Kalos: A New Adventure
by LuigiTSG
Summary: Frustrated with his performance in Unova, Ash returns to Pallet Town. He decides to live at home for a few months to better himself. When he finally decides that it is time to leave on another adventure, he recalls the memory of someone special from his childhood, and it inspires him to visit the Kalos Region. [Amourshipping]
1. Home

Chapter 1: Home

A boy stood at the top of the hill that overlooked his hometown. It was a small town, so much so that one probably wouldn't find it on a map if it wasn't for the Pokemon Lab located there. The town was covered in farmland with houses scattered throughout, and the total population couldn't have been more than three hundred. It was a peaceful life for those who lived here in Pallet Town.

The wind ruffled the boy's messy, black hair from under his hat. Under it were his deep brown eyes, but they weren't filled with their usual determined look. His partner pokemon, a Pikachu, looked at him from his shoulder with worried eyes.

The boy let out a sigh. Usually, this was a view that filled him with excitement for his return home. However, for the first time in his life, even that couldn't lift his spirits.

He had just returned from competing in Unova's Pokemon League, the Vertress Conference, in which he placed in the top eight. While most would consider this a great achievement, the boy wasn't satisfied. He knew he had underperformed, both in the competition and throughout his entire journey there.

He blamed himself more than anything. Looking back, there were far too many times where he had put himself or his pokemon in danger because he hadn't bothered to understand what he was up against. Sure, he could have trained his pokemon better to even the odds, but that didn't make up for the fact that his ignorance had been his downfall far more than a reasonable number of times.

Once again he looked at the medal in his hand. It had been given to him for participating in the Pokemon League. It read:

 _Vertress Conference  
_ _Ash Ketchum  
_ _Top Eight_

Ash smiled weakly at the medal. This was an achievement he was supposed to be proud of. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when Pikachu nuzzled his cheek.

"Pika-pi, pika pikachu," the yellow mouse said happily, in an attempt to cheer him up. It was worried that its trainer was scolding himself a little too much. Ash and Pikachu had been together since day one of their journey, and it knew better than anyone that Ash was a good trainer, even if that didn't always show.

"You're right, Pikachu. Maybe I'm being a little too hard on myself," Ash said. He scratched the electric-type behind the ear, who then cooed with joy. There was no way Ash couldn't put on a smile after seeing that. "Ready to head home, buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, raising its fist in the air. It then leapt off Ash's shoulder and ran down the trail to Pallet Town. Ash laughed at his partner's enthusiasm before jogging to keep up with it.

Ash's negative emotions left him as the two passed through town. Despite how he felt only a moment ago, it was difficult to not be excited as he got closer and closer to the house he grew up in.

Finally, the building he was looking for came into view. It was a small, white house, not unlike most of the other buildings in Pallet town. It had two floors with a red roof, and was surrounded by a white, wooden fence. The sight put a broad smile on Ash's face. He was finally home.

Ash immediately swung the door open and yelled, "Mom, I'm home!"

"Ash?" a voice asked from the kitchen. A moment later, a woman appeared in the doorway with a gentle smile. She had brown eyes much like Ash's along with reddish brown hair and was wearing a yellow and pink top with a blue skirt. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be back," Ash said before wrapping his mother, Delia, in a hug.

The two soon broke from the hug, with Delia resting her hands on her son's shoulders. "I'm so proud of you," she said.

"Thanks, mom," Ash responded.

Delia couldn't help but notice that Ash's smile faded slightly when she said that. She figured that Ash probably wasn't satisfied with his performance at the Vertress Conference, but decided against pressing the matter. Ash would tell her about it when he was ready.

"Well, I'm sure you're eager to see all of your pokemon again," Delia said, receiving a nod from Ash, "so why don't you take your things up to your room before heading off to the lab? We can talk all about your journey over dinner tonight."

Ash felt a bit guilty for wanting to leave so soon, but since his mom was fine with it he decided it wasn't a big deal. "Okay mom, I'll do that," he said before he ran up the stairs, Pikachu at his heels.

When Ash opened the door to his room, it looked as though he had never left. Everything was exactly where he had left it. On one side of the room was his bed, which had covers on them with pokeball designs. There was a large stuffed Snorlax in one corner of the room along with a radio and a small television. In another corner was a desk with all sorts of books about Pokemon. Ash wasn't much of one for reading, but he loved Pokemon so much that he didn't mind sitting down and learning about them from time to time.

Lastly was the dresser that displayed all his past achievements. The badges and rewards he had received from other regions were all neatly displayed across it. There were also a few other items on display, such as his Battle Frontier Symbols, his half of the Terracotta Town Pokemon Contest Ribbon, and his Orange League Championship Trophy.

Ash set his bag down next to the desk and then fished out his Unova badge case. He set it on the dresser along with his medal. He would have to remember to properly display those later, but first he wanted to go to the lab.

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder before he left his room and dashed down the stairs. Before he got to the door, he heard his mother calling to him from the kitchen.

"Please invite Professor Oak over for dinner while you're there!" Delia said.

"I will!" Ash yelled before making his way out the door and toward the Professor's lab.

It wasn't long before he was at Professor Oak's Lab, but Ash was so excited to see his pokemon again that he skipped the Lab altogether and went straight for the fields. Pikachu, realizing what was about to happen, quickly leapt off his trainer's shoulder and onto the fence that surrounded the property.

Ash hopped over the fence, and the moment his feet touched the ground on the other side, he could feel it rumbling. Seconds later, Ash found himself being trampled by his herd of Tauros. Once they passed, the black-haired trainer could be seen sprawled out on the ground with a dazed expression on his face.

"I guess I forgot about that," he said with a grimace. Pikachu felt bad for its trainer, but could stop itself from snickering a bit. It took him a bit of effort, but Ash soon managed to sit upright. It was then that he heard another one of his pokemon nearby.

"Bulba!" Ash turned to see a small grass-type pokemon running toward him, and it was clearly very happy to see him again.

"Hey, Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled, and reached to pet the seed pokemon when it got to him. "How are things here at the lab?"

"Bulba, bulbasaur," it said. It appeared that everything was going very well between all the pokemon. With Bulbasaur acting as a peacekeeper at the lab, it was rare to see fights last very long.

"That's great! Bulbasaur, would you mind calling everyone from Unova over here?" he asked.

Bulbasaur nodded and began storing energy in the plant bulb on its back. After a few seconds, the energy was launched into the sky to create a small firework display. Whether he had seen it one time or one thousand, Ash thought that Bulbasaur's control over its Solar Beam was astounding. Not only was it able to create something so beautiful, it also had many different patterns it could use to signal specific groups of pokemon.

"Thanks, Bulbasaur," Ash said. The seed pokemon smiled at this and turned to Pikachu who began to animatedly tell it about all the adventures they'd had in the Unova region. Ash then released his other pokemon from their pokeballs, who started to talk with the other pokemon as they arrived.

While he was waiting, Ash heard a someone calling out to him. "There you are, Ash!" He looked behind him to find Professor Oak walking toward him from the lab. "I thought I saw you out here."

"Oh, hi, Professor Oak!" Ash exclaimed as he stood to greet him.

"You know, Ash, I thought you would at least stop in the lab to let me know you were here," the Professor said.

Ash's face fell when he heard that. "Sorry, Professor. I guess I got a little too excited to see everyone again."

"Don't worry about it, Ash," he said with a smile, "I completely understand. So, tell me, how did your journey in Unova go?"

Ash's expression lightened slightly. "I certainly had a lot of fun, and I also made a lot of new friends," he said, gesturing to the pokemon that were arriving one at a time after seeing Bulbasaur's signal, "but I also think I could have done a lot better. I made a lot of mistakes in Unova, and it just makes me wonder how well I would have done if I was better prepared."

"Ash, it's important to remember that nothing you do is a waste of time," the Professor said. "Anything can be a learning experience. The best thing you can do now is learn from your mistakes. Once you understand your mistakes, you can then take steps to ensure they don't happen again."

"Thanks, Professor," Ash said. That was exactly the kind of thing Ash needed to hear right now. Having someone remind him that he can improve from this experience filled him with confidence once again.

"Any time, Ash," Professor Oak said. "You're planning on seeing all of your pokemon today, I presume?"

"That's right," Ash confirmed, "but I wanted to start with these guys first. I wanted to thank them for all their hard work in Unova." Ash saw that the last of his pokemon were arriving.

"I see. Well, I won't keep you any longer, Ash," he said, turning to leave.

"Oh, wait!" Ash said, remembering what he was supposed to do while he was there. "My mom wanted me to invite you over for dinner tonight."

Professor Oak stood there in thought for a moment, but then noticed something behind Ash. Before he had time to look, he was tackled by another pokemon. It didn't take him long for him to realize it was Muk on his back.

"At least it's not me for once," the Professor muttered before answering Ash's question. "It has been a while since I've had Delia's cooking. I'll be there."

"That's great, Professor!" Ash said between laughs. "Okay, Muk! It's good to see you too!" Professor Oak smiled at the scene in front of him before he left to return to the lab.

Once he got Muk off him, he returned his attention to his Unova pokemon. In front of him stood Unfezant, Oshawott, Pignite, Snivy, Scraggy, Leavanny, Palpitoad, Boldore, and Krookodile. Along with Pikachu, all of them played very important roles in Ash's Unova journey. Now that everyone was here, they all quieted down and waited for what their trainer had to say.

"Thank you, everyone, for the adventure in Unova," he told them. The group all let out a small cheer in response. "You all worked hard in the Unova League as well. I'm proud of all of you. I know we didn't win, but you all did your absolute best and I couldn't ask for more."

"I don't want any of you thinking that it was your fault we lost," he continued. "If anyone is to blame for this, it's me." Everyone gave cries of disapproval because they knew he was a great trainer, but let him continue.

"Thanks for believing in me, everyone, but that doesn't change that fact that I made a lot of mistakes in Unova. Many of which were ones that were completely avoidable, and I should have known better with my experience as a trainer. It was my actions that put us at a disadvantage at the Vertress Conference. I'm sorry, everyone."

Once he had finished, all his pokemon gathered around him for a group hug. Even Bulbasaur and Muk joined. They all accepted what their trainer had to say, but they still wanted him to know that he always had their support. The last thing any of them wanted was for him to think he was an inadequate trainer.

Ash felt tears well up in his eyes. He wouldn't have thought that his pokemon would be this supportive of him. "Thank you, guys. I promise, I'll get stronger and I'll learn from my mistakes. Next time, we're bringing home that first place trophy!" he exclaimed while throwing a fist in the air. All his pokemon cried in approval and mimicked his pose.

Everyone there was laughing and having a good time. "Hey Bulbasaur!" Ash called to the grass-type. "Why don't we call everyone else over here? I don't want to leave anyone out of this."

Bulbasaur nodded and charged Solar Beam once again, then fired it into the air. Everyone looked up to watch the light show, which was just as beautiful as before.

* * *

It had been a long and eventful afternoon for Ash, and he had enjoyed every moment of it. After his talk with his Unova pokemon, he got to see all his other pokemon. Every one of them was happy to see Ash again. Even Sceptile, probably the calmest pokemon out of the group, was uncharacteristically ecstatic. He got the usual head bites from Totodile and Gible, and Bayleef was more affectionate than ever toward him, which everyone else thought was impossible. No one was surprised when Torkoal burst into tears upon seeing Ash, though.

The whole group was there for a little over an hour. Ash got some time with each of his pokemon separately, while the rest of them enjoyed what had become a small party. Soon though, all of them began to disperse, leaving Ash and Pikachu alone once again, relaxing under a small tree next to the lab.

"Today was great day, wasn't it, buddy?" Ash asked his partner.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"Now it's time to figure out what comes next," he said. "I have no idea what we should do."

Ash started to think about his options, but quickly realized he didn't have many. He currently had no leads on other regions he could visit or other competitions he could compete in.

He then reflected on his journey in Unova, and all the mistakes he made along the way. He needed to find time to focus on fixing them, but how could he do that effectively if he was exploring another new region?

Professor Oak's words echoed in his ears: _'Nothing you do is a waste of time. Anything can be a learning experience.'_

"Pikachu, I think I have an idea," Ash said. "You're probably going to think I'm crazy, though."

"Pikachu?" the mouse pokemon asked, tilting its head.

Ash took a deep breath. Even he knew that what he was about to say was completely out of character. "What if… we stay in Pallet Town for a while?"

"Pika!?" Pikachu cried out in shock. Ash had never wanted to stay still once in his life. If he wasn't on the move, he didn't feel right. What made him think that this was a good idea?

"Yeah, I figured you would have a reaction like that," he said with a light chuckle. "I just feel that I could benefit a lot by staying here for a while. We could get a lot of training done here at the lab, and I would also be able to focus on my weak points as a trainer. Then, once we're ready, we can decide a new journey."

As Ash spoke, Pikachu's expression softened. What its trainer was saying made a lot of sense. He felt so bad about how his last journey went that he doesn't want to just rush into the next one. If this was what Ash felt was right, then Pikachu was behind him all the way. Pikachu nuzzled his cheek to show him that it was okay with his plan.

"I'll take that as a sign that you agree," Ash said.

"Pika-pi, pikachu!" it replied happily.

"Good," Ash said with a laugh. "Now, we should probably get going. Mom will be done with dinner soon." Pikachu nodded its head in agreement.

Ash stood up, and Pikachu perched itself on his shoulder. He then ran to the lab after remembering that he probably shouldn't be hopping the fence again.

Once inside the lab, he briefly searched for Professor Oak, but he didn't appear to be around. He ran back home, assuming the professor had already left.

Ash was proven to be correct as soon as opened the door. He found his mother talking with the professor in the living room, patiently waiting for Ash to return.

"Ash! You're just in time!" Delia exclaimed. "I just finished dinner a few minutes ago."

"Great!" Ash said, beaming. "I'm starving!"

They all had a laugh about Ash's appetite. Not much gets him more excited than food. They all moved to the Kitchen and took a seat, with Pikachu sitting on the table as it often did. Ash did his best to not swallow the whole dish of food in one gulp.

Delia was the first to speak once they sat down. "So Ash, how was your day with your pokemon?" she asked.

"It was great," Ash said. "We all just gathered around and we had an amazing time together. It was almost like a party. It was really nice to spend time with all of them again."

Both Professor Oak and Delia simply smiled in response. It was nice to see him in such a good mood, especially since they had both seen he was a bit distracted when he first arrived home.

"Have you decided what you are doing next, Ash?" Professor Oak asked him.

Ash nearly choked on his food when he heard this, but managed to keep his cool. He knew this question was coming eventually, but he wasn't expecting it to be within the first three minutes of dinner.

"Um, actually," Ash began hesitantly, "I was thinking I would stay here at home for a while."

Both nearly dropped their utensils in surprise. Just like Pikachu, they didn't think that Ash was even capable of staying in one place for an extended period. After they took a moment to let what Ash had said sink in, they spoke again.

"Where did this idea come from?" Delia asked.

"I think I might know," the professor said. "You want take time off for some training."

"That's right," Ash confirmed. "After the Vertress Conference, I realized that there were a lot of things I could be doing better. I thought the best way to learn how to improve myself was to stay here for a while rather than hope I figured it out on the go."

"I think that is a very wise thing to do, young man," Professor Oak told him.

"I'll support you all the way on this, Ash," Delia said. "You're welcome to stay as long as you need."

"Thanks," Ash said. He was happy that they had both taken the news well.

"You know, Ash," the professor started, "if you are planning on being around for a while, it wouldn't be a bad idea do some studying on pokemon. It would really help you out if you come across an ability or move that you wouldn't have known about before."

"Oh! You can learn to cook for yourself, too!" Delia said excitedly. She had always wanted to teach him. "How are you going to survive out there if you don't know how to make something decent to eat? I know on all of your other adventures you had someone else with you that knew how to cook, but what if that isn't the case next time?"

"One more thing," Oak said. "Do you know how to properly take care of your pokemon? I have no doubt that you can do a decent job on your own, but like Delia said, you also had someone else traveling with you that knew all their needs."

Ash listened intently on what they were telling him. Everything they said made sense. He knew he wasn't as educated as he should be in certain areas, and he had always been reliant on others as well. It would take a lot of hard work, but Ash was determined to better himself.

"You're both right," Ash told them. "I have a lot I need to work on."

"What's important is that you understand what needs to be done and work hard toward it," Delia said, giving her son an encouraging smile.

Ash was ready. He was going to become the best trainer he could be. With that in mind, he asked the most important question of the night.

"So when do we start?"

* * *

 _In the forest that borders Pallet Town, a young girl had gotten lost in the forest._

" _Hello? Where is everyone?" she called, but no one answered._

 _The girl was becoming more afraid my the second. Truthfully, she hadn't been separated from everyone for very long, no more than ten minutes, but for someone so young and shy it wasn't difficult for the fear to set in._

 _The girl was six years old, and was visiting Pallet Town from Kalos for a summer camp. She had bright, blue eyes with honey-blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders, and she wore a straw hat with a pink dress._

 _She flinched when a nearby bush began to rustle and tried to run away. However, in her panic she tripped and fell to the ground. She scraped her knee up quite a bit in the fall and couldn't move it. Tears filled her eyes as she was forced to watch in terror, waiting for whatever creature could be coming for her._

 _Suddenly, a small blue pokemon hopped into view directly in front of the girl. A Poliwag. The tadpole pokemon looked at her, causing the girl to back away as much as she could. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the Poliwag left, hopping along deeper into the forest._

 _Tears started falling down the young girl's face. "I said I didn't want to go to camp!" she cried._

 _Her mother had forced the girl to go to the Summer Camp, despite being adamantly against it. This was her third day at the camp, and she hadn't had any fun or made any friends at all. She was too shy to start conversations with anyone else at the camp so she found herself hiding from everyone as much as she could manage. Now, she was lost and absolutely terrified. If only she could have convinced her mom to let her stay home…_

 _Just when the honey-haired girl thought the situation couldn't get any worse, the bush started rustling again. Still unable to move, the only thing she could do was shut her eyes as tightly as possible and wish for it to all be over soon._

" _Poliwag?" a voice called. A boy around the girl's age stepped into the clearing. He was looking for the water-type that had just passed through, but stopped when he saw the girl on the ground in front of him._

" _What are you doing?" he asked her._

 _The girl's eyes opened when he spoke. The boy had brown eyes and messy, black hair. He wore a sleeveless red and yellow shirt with a pokeball design on them with blue shorts. Had someone come to save her from this nightmare?_

" _I'm Ash," the boy said, "and you?"_

 _Before she could answer, the girl winced at the pain in her leg._

 _Seeing this, the boy, Ash, asked a different question instead. "What's wrong?"_

" _I-I hurt my leg," the girl replied. There were still tears in her eyes and she was still quite scared, but seeing someone else had her a bit relieved._

 _Ash knelt in front of her to look at her injured knee. "Are you okay? Oh, right," he said, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handkerchief. It was white with a blue edge on one side that had pokeball symbols in the corners. "In times like these," he said, while tying the piece of cloth around the girl's leg, "all right!"_

 _The girl tried to stand, but once again winced in pain. "Ow!"_

" _I'll put a spell on it!" Ash said to cheer her up. "Pain, pain, go away!" he exclaimed while making strange motions with his hands and finally throwing both of his hands into the air._

 _The girl once again tried to stand, but the pain was too much for her. "Ow! It's no use, I can't get up," she said sadly._

 _The black-haired boy stood up and smiled. "Don't give up until the end!" he told her, then he held out his hand for the girl to take._

 _The honey-blonde girl didn't even realize that she had stopped crying. She wasn't even scared anymore. This boy, Ash, was the first person since she had arrived at the camp to show her any amount of kindness, melting away any fears she had left. She carefully took Ash's hand._

 _Ash pulled her up to her feet. The girl closed her eyes as she waited for the pain, but it never came. She opened her eyes and found that she had fallen into a small hug with the boy. She held her position for a moment before taking a step back to look at him._

" _See? You got up!" he exclaimed with a toothy grin._

 _The boy was right. Never give up until the end. The girl decided that she should remember that. Then she remembered that Ash had asked for her name. "I'm Serena," she told him._

 _Ash gave her another smile before saying, "Let's go back to the campsite." He then started to walk, still holding Serena's hand. "Come on, it's this way." He pointed to an opening in the trees nearby with his free hand._

 _She felt a little bit silly for getting lost so close to the campsite, but she wouldn't trade this moment for anything. She had finally found a friend at camp and didn't need to hate being there any longer. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as they walked together. Despite her young age, the girl knew that this boy was special._

 _Serena would never forget this moment._

The sun was rising over a peaceful little town in southern Kalos. Much like Pallet Town in Kanto, there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about the place, aside from the famous Rhyhorn Racer, Grace, who lived there. The town consisted mostly of farmland, but also had a large open field that Grace used for practice.

It was another quiet morning in Vaniville Town. Or, it was before a piercing scream cut through the air.

The residents were used to this by now. It had been a near daily occurrence over the last couple months. They were all well aware that the noise had come from Grace's own daughter.

The girl in question angrily sat up from the floor and stared at the Fletchling in her room. It had once again woken her up by pecking her hard in the back of her head.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to wake me up like that!" she screamed. Fletchling just looked at the girl with honey-blonde hair as if it had done nothing wrong.

"It wouldn't be necessary if you woke up on time, Serena!" her mother called from downstairs.

Serena hung her head in response. She hadn't always been like this. She used to always get up at a reasonable time and help her mother with whatever was needed. However, after her sixteenth birthday, Grace insisted that Serena learn to race like she did. She soon found herself sleeping in as much as she could to avoid training, which led to this confrontation more often than she would like.

"I was in the middle of a great dream, too," Serena complained. Fletchling snickered in response. It had heard this one before. It then flew out the door of Serena's room the way it came.

Serena let out a disappointed sigh. She had once again been dreaming about the boy who had found her in the forest all those years ago. She stood and looked toward her dresser, where the handkerchief he had given her sat neatly folded in the center. She had meant to return it to him, but he insisted she keep it as something to remember him by.

"Ash," she mumbled to herself. Serena had no idea why he had been on her mind so much recently. It seemed that with how miserable she had been in these past few months that she had latched onto her happiest memories in attempt to keep her spirits up.

"I hope you're getting ready for your morning training!" Grace once again called. Serena grimaced at this, but she knew it was coming. She groaned as she moved to pull her pink racing outfit out of her closet.

It wasn't like she hated the idea of Rhyhorn Racing, though. She always admired her mother's skill and determination, but this wasn't what she wanted to do. The training was tough and often painful. Unfortunately, Serena didn't think she had a lot of alternatives available to her.

Serena had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, and she was content to stay home with her mother until she found something. Grace was aware of this, and that's why she forced her to race. She knew that her daughter wasn't going to enjoy the training, but getting her to like it wasn't her intention.

Grace recognized that Serena was never going to find a passion in her life the way things were going. She thought that if she could make her want to leave, she could discover what she enjoyed on her own. She knew that it was rather unfair to Serena to essentially bully her out of the house, but she would never leave on her own adventure just because her mother had asked her to.

The racer knew that her daughter was just about to her limit. All she needed now was a final push to get her started. But what was that going to be?

Serena pulled the red bow out of her hair and looked into the mirror in her room. She had to admit that despite the bedhead she still looked alright. It wouldn't last for long, though. Her hair fell to the middle of her back, and her pajamas were pink with white bow symbols all over it. The girl slowly changed into her solid pink racing uniform and tied her hair up.

"Well, I have to do this sometime," Serena told herself as she went to the door to her room. She stopped in the doorway and took another look at the handkerchief. She wondered if she would ever get the chance to see him again.

Unbeknownst to her, the boy from her childhood would soon be leaving Pallet town once again.

* * *

Nearly six months had passed since Ash had returned to Pallet Town, and it had been quite eventful. He had learned much more than he would have initially expected when he started.

His mother helped him learn how to cook, and he was getting rather good at it. It wasn't quite at the same quality as his mother's, but it was passable. Ash had even contacted his old friend and traveling partner, Brock, to get some of his favorite recipes from him.

Brock was also more than happy to help Ash out by giving him a bunch of his breeding notes. With those, he would be able to give his pokemon the care they required, such as making food for them that meets their needs.

Whenever he wasn't reviewing Brock's breeding notes or studying about other various things, he was at the lab with his pokemon. With how often he was around, it was easy to find time to help his pokemon train. Now, all of them were in top form, and Pikachu specifically had never looked better.

With his time in Pallet Town coming to an end very soon, Ash was now trying to decide where he wanted to go next. Professor Oak had given him a couple ideas for regions he could explore, and he was now walking with Pikachu near the outskirts of town while trying to decide.

"I don't know, buddy," Ash told his partner pokemon. "What do you think?"

Pikachu shook its head. It wasn't about to make its trainer's decision for him, not that it had any idea anyway.

"The way I see it we have two options," Ash said. "We could go to Kalos; I bet that would be good for us. On the other hand, we could also go to Alola; traveling around tropical islands would certainly be a lot of fun. It's a hard decision."

"Pika," the electric-type said, nodding in agreement.

Ash stopped when he saw an opening in the trees nearby. For some reason, he wanted to see what was in that direction. They didn't exactly have anything better to do, anyway.

"Want to explore the forest a bit?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded and hopped onto his shoulder. Ash then started moving into the forest.

It wasn't long before he realized that he was somewhat familiar with this area, but he had no idea how that was possible. He hadn't even been on this side of Pallet Town in years, so why did he recognize this place?

The two quickly came to a small clearing. Ash paused when he saw it. "Have I been here before?" he asked himself. Ash couldn't shake the feeling that something important had happened here.

"Pika-pi?" Pikachu asked. It had absolutely no idea what was going on inside Ash's head.

Ash was suddenly distracted by some nearby noise. Something was moving around behind him. He turned around just in time to see a pokemon hop out of a nearby bush.

"A Poliwag?" he asked.

Then he remembered. "That's right, I was following a Poliwag through this part of the woods. That's when I came to this clearing, and..." he trailed off.

Then the rest of the memory came rushing back. An image flashed in his head. It was of a girl wearing a straw hat.

"I met someone here," Ash mumbled.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked. Now it needed to know more.

"It was a long time ago. Probably ten years or so," he told Pikachu. "She was lost here in the forest. I happened to be nearby when she fell and hurt herself. I helped her to her feet and showed her the way out of the forest."

"Pika, Pikachu," the mouse pokemon said, urging him to continue.

"She was here for a summer camp that Professor Oak was hosting." Ash smiled as he recalled more and more about the camp. "She was incredibly shy, and didn't even want to come to the camp at first. We became friends fast after the incident here, and we spent all our time together for the rest of the camp."

"But then the camp ended, and she had to leave." His face fell a bit. "We only had a few days together. We had so much fun, though, that she actually didn't want to go, despite how much she had been against coming here in the first place."

Pikachu pat Ash on the back to comfort him. It seemed like this girl had been important to him, even though they had only known each other for a short time.

"She's from the Kalos region," he remembered.

Pikachu was a bit surprised that the girl was from one of the regions they were considering to visit. Knowing Ash, Pikachu knew what he would say next.

"Let's go to Kalos, Pikachu," Ash said. "Who knows? Maybe we'll run into her while we're there. Even if we don't, the Kalos League is supposed to be incredibly strong. We could use a good challenge after our time off."

Pikachu thought it was a little odd to base his decision on someone he only remembered a mere five minutes ago, but couldn't see anything wrong for wanting to track down a childhood friend. The mouse pokemon nuzzled Ash's cheek to tell him he was okay with that.

"Good," he said. "Now if only I could remember her name."

Ash concentrated as hard as he could on the memory of the time they met. He knew he had gotten her name then.

He had pulled her to her feet, but maybe put a little too much force into it. She then stepped back in surprise, since she was expecting her leg to hurt more. Then she introduced herself...

"Serena."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

There are a few things I need to address. First, I must apologize to all of those who were following my other story, Almost Over. Some things happened, and I couldn't find the motivation to work on that story again.

As for what exactly happened, it was a mixture of things. School got a little crazy, and it became more difficult to find time to work on my writing. In addition, any time I have had to write has been used toward a new, original story that I've had my mind on for a while. Finally, the most important factor was the reveal of the Sun and Moon Anime. After seeing that, I kind of lost hope for the series.

However, the final episode of XY&Z managed to restore my faith a bit, and I would happily consider it as a "true ending" of the Pokemon Anime, until Sun and Moon can prove to me otherwise. As for what that means for my writing, I've decided to give this another go. For now I am viewing this as a way to practice writing while I do some research for my original story.

Anyway, back to the actual story you just read, I hope you enjoyed it! My goal here was set Ash up for success in Kalos, as well as give him a real reason to go there. He did not meet Alexa in this universe. Hopefully the story so far feels somewhat natural. I felt like I might have been reaching a bit too far for certain things to happen in the first couple of chapters.

I'm not going to promise a regular schedule for these right now, since anyone who read my other story knows how well that worked out. Instead, I'll just say that I'll put these chapters out when I can. The next two chapters are already written, and I'll start to post them in a few days.


	2. To Lumiose City!

Chapter 2: To Lumiose City!

It was the day after Ash had decided to travel to the Kalos region, and he, Delia, and Professor Oak were at the airport in Viridian City. Ash was minutes away from boarding his flight. Soon, it would be just Ash and Pikachu once again, on another adventure.

Ash had told Delia his decision the previous night over dinner. He didn't mention what had made him choose his destination like he did, but his mother wasn't surprised that he wanted to get there as soon as possible. After all, he had worked so hard to improve himself and was eager to use what he had learned.

As with every time Ash went on a new journey, Delia had prepared a new outfit for him. He was wearing a blue, short-sleeved jacket that had a white stripe along the bottom the bottom and up the center to its collar. Along with it he wore dark gray jeans and a red hat with a white semi-circle on the front.

"Do you have everything, Ash?" Delia asked, for what Ash had thought was the hundredth time.

"I do, mom," Ash responded. He checked that everything was there before he left the house. In his bag, he had some pokemon food, which he had made himself, a tent, and other small necessities. He made extra certain that he had a copy of Brock's breeding notes, since he hadn't memorized it all yet and would be invaluable in ensuring the health of his pokemon.

"It will be different with you gone again," Professor Oak said. "I was just getting used to you being home all the time."

"I know," Ash said, "but I'm ready to get out there and try again."

"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed from Ash's shoulder. It might be more excited than Ash to get started.

"Of course you're ready," Delia told him. "We know better than anyone how much you've prepared for this."

Ash wrapped his arms around his mother for a hug. "Thanks for everything," he told her. When they separated, Ash then held his hand out to the other. "And you, too, professor."

"It was my pleasure, Ash" Professor Oak said, accepting the handshake.

"I think it's time for me to get going," Ash said.

"You're right," Delia said, and hugged her son one last time. "Good luck, Ash. And you too, Pikachu. Go show the world what you can do."

"I will," he said, and turned to run in the other direction. "Bye, mom! Bye, professor!" he yelled over his shoulder.

It was just like him to leave so suddenly. The two smiled and waved as they watched him leave for his newest adventure.

* * *

"This is so exciting!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

The pair were exiting the Lumiose City airport. It was late morning when they arrived, so they still had plenty of time in the day to explore. The first thing they saw when they stepped outside was a very tall, white tower in the center of the city.

"That must be Prism Tower," Ash mused as he looked at the city map in his hands. "It's also the site of the Lumiose Gym."

Pikachu's cheeks sparked in anticipation. It was always ready to battle.

"I want to battle, too," Ash said, "but I don't think challenging the Gym immediately is a good idea. It is just the two of us, after all."

"Pikachu," the mouse pokemon muttered. It knew he was right, but that didn't mean Pikachu had to be happy about it.

"I know, buddy," Ash said while scratching his partner behind its ears. "I promise, we'll find someone to battle soon."

Pikachu perked up after hearing that. It knew Ash wouldn't let it down.

"So, where do you think we should go first?" Ash asked, looking back to the map. "How about Professor Sycamore's Pokemon Lab? It's nearby, and we do have to visit him sometime."

Pikachu nodded, and the two took off into the city.

Lumiose City must have been one of the largest cities Ash had ever visited. There were people and pokemon everywhere. There were so many pokemon he had never seen before. For every one he recognized, there was another that he did not.

The streets were absolutely littered with shops and restaurants as well. It seemed that there was something for everyone to enjoy. They passed places that specialized in making foods from all over the world, and Ash told himself that he would have to check some of them out if he had the chance. They also saw some cafe's, a shop that sold exclusively evolutionary stones, and a high-end boutique, but the most important location to them now was directly in front of them.

Professor Sycamore's Lab was a large tan building covered in arched windows. It was two stories tall and surrounded by a fence of stone pillars and metal bars. The two pillars before the entrance were topped with large, stone pokeballs.

Ash ran up to the green doors and paused. Could he just walk straight in? It wasn't like there was a doorbell or anything. Deciding to be polite, he knocked on the door.

They waited a moment before Ash let out a sigh. "Well, I don't think anyone's coming. I guess we should just let ourselves in?" Since the lab was in what appeared to be one of the busier parts of the city, Ash wouldn't be surprised if people often just walked in off the streets. With that in mind, he opened the door.

Ash and Pikachu entered a very large room. If it weren't for the bookcases on either side of the room, it would have been empty. The walls were a deep blue with golden trim, and floor was made from dark green tiles. A red carpet extended from the entryway and diverged toward two different hallways and up a staircase in the center of the room, which led to a second-floor walkway.

"This is nothing like Professor Oak's lab," Ash mused.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed quietly.

Not knowing anything better to do, he called out, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

After a few seconds, they heard someone respond. "I'm here," the voice said with a yawn.

Ash and Pikachu turned to their right and saw a man coming from the hallway. His hair was dark gray, and under his lab coat he wore a shirt that matched the color of the walls.

"Are you the professor?" Ash asked automatically.

"I am," he responded, though somewhat lazily. It seemed he wasn't exactly well rested. "I don't believe I've met you before. What's your name, young man?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum, and this is Pikachu," Ash introduced, and Pikachu waved to greet him upon being mentioned. "We just arrived here from the Kanto region."

The professor's eyes widened when he heard Ash's name. "Ah, yes," he said, sounding slightly more awake this time, "I heard from Professor Oak that you were coming. Please, come in. I'll show you around."

Above them a blue, frog-like pokemon, a Froakie, watched from the shadows. It did this every time a new trainer came in. All Froakie wanted was someone that could help it reach its maximum potential, but time and time again it was chosen by inexperienced trainers that hardly knew what they were doing.

Being a starter pokemon at the lab, Froakie had no choice but to accept when a new trainer picked it. That didn't mean it would listen to them though, since they often made calls that would only put Froakie into a bad situation. Within a week, Froakie was always returned to the lab, and the process would start all over again.

This boy had Froakie intrigued. It wasn't often that an already established trainer came to the lab. As him and the Professor left the room, Froakie decided it would follow them and listen to what he had to say. Maybe this could be the trainer it was looking for.

"I'm Professor Sycamore," the professor said, properly introducing himself. "What brings you to Kalos, Ash?"

"I've come to meet new pokemon and compete in the Kalos League," Ash explained.

"I see. This isn't your first time participating in a regional league, correct?"

"That's right," Ash confirmed. "This will actually be my sixth one. I most recently placed in the top eight in Unova."

"That's quite impressive," Professor Sycamore mused. "Though, wasn't the Unova League several months ago?"

"It was. I wasn't happy with my performance in Unova, so I spent some time at home to train for a while," Ash informed.

"There's nothing wrong with trying to become a better trainer," the professor said. "You'll be happy to know that you still have plenty of time to collect your badges before the League. It's still several months away, which is more than enough time to explore all that Kalos has to offer."

"That's great!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.

Ash, Pikachu, and Professor Sycamore entered another room. There were more bookcases, a lounging area, and a few machines and computers. At one of the machines, a large purple and red pokemon stood, apparently being scanned by a machine.

"Is that a Garchomp?" Ash asked.

"It is," he confirmed. "It's vital to my current research on evolution, and happens to be one of my closest friends."

"What kind of research are you doing on evolutions?" Ash asked.

"The primary focus of my research now is on a new type of evolution that was only recently discovered," Professor Sycamore told him. "We call it Mega Evolution."

"What's Mega Evolution? I've never heard of it." Ash and Pikachu were suddenly much more interested in what the professor had to say. Despite his studying, he had never come across the term before.

"Would you believe me if I told you that pokemon had an additional stage of evolution?" he asked.

"Are you saying that Garchomp can still evolve?" Ash asked in return.

"Technically, yes," Professor Sycamore told him, "there have been confirmed cases of a Garchomp Mega Evolving. But Mega Evolution is different in that it isn't a permanent evolution. A Mega Evolved pokemon soon returns to its original form."

Ash and Pikachu stared at the professor in amazement. To think that a pokemon as strong as Garchomp could get even stronger was incredible to him. "So what does it take to get Garchomp to Mega Evolve?" he asked.

"We know that it requires two special stones," the professor said. "The trainer holds one, which is called a Key Stone, and the pokemon holds the other, called a Mega Stone. Mega Stones, however, only work with specific pokemon, and are named after the pokemon that can use it."

He then gestured to an object on the nearby machine. It was a large, round, purple stone, with red and yellow swirls in the center. "We recently came across this Mega Stone, and we are fairly certain that it is capable of causing Garchomp to Mega Evolve. As such, this has been named Garchompite."

"Does this mean that you could Mega Evolve Garchomp right now?" Ash asked excitedly.

"Unfortunately, no," Sycamore said. "Like I said before, two stones are required for Mega Evolution. We still do not have a Key Stone here at the lab for conducting our research."

Ash's face fell. "Aw, I was hoping to see it," he mumbled.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Ash. I'm sure you'll see a Mega Evolution at some point."

Ash nodded. He was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see a Mega Evolution, but decided it wasn't worth getting upset over.

Professor Sycamore then led Ash out of the room, toward the back of the building. "This way, Ash," he said. "I have something I want to give you."

They walked a short distance down another hallway and entered a small room to the side. It looked like a small office. Professor Sycamore opened a cabinet at the other end of the room and grabbed something from it. He then offered it to Ash.

Ash took the item and inspected it. In his hand was a small, rectangular object. It had two red, metal ends on either side of a piece of glass.

"This is the Kalos Pokedex," Professor Sycamore told him. "It has information on all of the pokemon you might find here in the Kalos region."

"Thanks, Professor!" Ash exclaimed as he pocketed the device.

"Now, Ash, I have an offer for you," the professor said.

"What is it?" Ash asked. Pikachu also tilted its head in wonder.

"There is a tournament being hosted in Prism Tower later today. They've gathered some strong trainers for it, but one of them suddenly quit yesterday, leaving a position open. I think you would be the perfect choice for the final spot."

Ash and Pikachu were beaming. This was exactly what they needed. "That would be great!" he exclaimed. "But I only have Pikachu with me right now."

"That won't be an issue," he was told. "Each competitor is only allowed to use one pokemon for the whole event. It's single elimination, and the trainers get an hour to rest between rounds."

"Perfect! Thanks again, professor!" Ash said. "Let's go show them what we can do," he told Pikachu, giving his partner a fist bump.

"Of course, Ash. I'm sure you'll do well. Make sure you're at Prism tower in three hours."

"I will! Let's go get ready, buddy!" Ash then ran out the door the way he came.

"He sure is energetic," Professor Sycamore mused.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu walked through the open doorway to the gym floor and stared in awe. The place was absolutely packed with people, with several hundred in the stands on either side of the stadium. He noticed that there were cameramen throughout the room, which meant that the tournament would be on television. There were also several people gathered in the center of the room. Ash figured they were the other competitors and the ones coordinating the event.

A young man, probably a little older than Ash, approached him. He had blond hair, large glasses, and was wearing a blue jumpsuit with yellow highlights. "Can I help you?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "I'm Ash Ketchum, and I'm here to compete in this tournament," he told him.

"Oh, perfect! You're right on time. I'm Clemont, the Lumiose City Gym Leader, and I'll be in charge of this event," he introduced.

"Clemont!" a girl's voice called. "Hurry up! We're about to start!" Ash looked past Clemont and saw a girl, maybe eight or nine years old, waving her hand the air to get his attention. She had light blonde hair tied into a side ponytail, wearing a brown blouse with a white skirt. She and Clemont looked quite similar.

"I'll be right there!" Clemont yelled, then turned back to Ash and Pikachu "That's my sister, Bonnie. Will you be using Pikachu today?"

"Pika!" Pikachu confidently answered for him.

"Great!" Clemont exclaimed. "I actually specialize in electric-types, so I can't wait to see what you can do."

"We aim to be the best, isn't that right buddy?" Ash asked as he gave his partner another fist bump.

"Pika, pikachu," the mouse pokemon said as its cheeks sparked in anticipation.

"You two sure are confident," Clemont said. "You should take your place next to the others. We'll be determining your first opponent shortly."

"Okay, thanks Clemont," Ash said, and ran toward the middle of the room. He and Pikachu stood in line next to the other seven participants.

Ash wasn't paying much attention as Clemont introduced himself and the competitors to the audience. He was a little distracted by the number of people. Normally this wouldn't faze him, but it had been a long time since he had even battled and was worried about messing up.

Seeing the expression on Ash's face, Pikachu patted him on the back. "Pika-pi, pikachu" it said encouragingly.

"You're right, Pikachu," Ash said, putting on a smile. "We're ready for this." He then turned his attention back to Clemont.

"As a reminder," Clemont started, "each match will be a one on one battle, and the winner moves on to the next round. In addition, each trainer must use the same pokemon for the duration of the tournament. After the final match of each round has concluded, the remaining competitors will be given one hour to rest before the next round."

Clemont then faced a large monitor above the entrance of the stadium. "We will now determine who will battle in the first match!"

Once he finished, the images of two people appeared on the screen. The first was of a young man with red hair. The second was Ash.

"Our first battle of the tournament will be Warren against Ash!" Clemont exclaimed, and the crowd cheered.

Ash and Warren stepped forward and stood before each other in the center of the battlefield. "Good luck, Warren," Ash said, and held out his hand.

"You too, Ash," Warren said, accepting the handshake. Ash and Warren then turned around and walked to their respective trainer's boxes.

"Both trainers can now send out their pokemon!" Clement yelled. Apparently, he was also the referee.

Ash confidently pointed toward the battlefield and yelled "I choose you, Pikachu!" The electric-type then ran down Ash's arm from his shoulder and leapt onto the field.

Warren withdrew a pokeball from his belt and hurled it into the air. "Go, Pyroar!" he yelled.

There was a flash of white light, and a large lion-like pokemon stood before them. It had black fur covering its body, with brown fur on its feet, tail, and face. It also had a large mane of red and yellow around its neck.

Ash took out his new Pokedex and held it up to the pokemon. The device extended and showed two different images on it: one that looked like the one in front of him, and another that had a smaller mane that instead ran down the length of its body. Ash saw that these were gender differences and that the one he was facing was male.

"Pyroar, the Royal Pokemon," the Pokedex said in a robotic voice. "The male with the largest mane is the leader of the pride." Ash quickly took note of the other information the Pokedex provided, which told him that Pyroar was a fire and normal type pokemon, and that its ability was Rivalry.

' _That's a problem,'_ Ash thought, _'Both Pikachu and Pyroar are the male, so it will be dealing more damage to Pikachu. We'll need to be careful about that.'_

"This will be a one on one battle between Warren's Pyroar and Ash's Pikachu!" Clemont called from the sidelines. "Begin!"

"Let's start with a Quick Attack, Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

Pikachu took off like a bullet at Pyroar. Its speed surprised everyone else in the room. They had seen Quick Attacks before, but nothing quite like this. Maximizing its speed was something the pair had worked very hard on back in Pallet Town. Pikachu crashed into Pyroar before it or its trainer could react, causing it to recoil backward. The yellow pokemon leapt off the Pyroar and into the air.

"Follow with Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Flamethrower!" Warren countered.

Pikachu quickly gathered electricity in its cheeks and shot a beam of it at Pyroar from the air. The royal pokemon responded by firing a stream of fire from its mouth straight back. The two attacks collided in midair and created an explosion.

"Use Crunch, Pyroar!" Warren called.

"Counter with Iron Tail!"

Pyroar ran through the smoke at the falling electric-type. Pikachu's tail glowed white, and swung it at the approaching pokemon, who caught the attack with Crunch. Pikachu winced at the attack, but held firm. Pyroar, on the other hand, didn't fare as well, visibly flinching at the force of the attack.

Seeing an opportunity, Ash called his next attack. "Electro Ball, Pikachu!"

"Get away, Pyroar!" Warren yelled, but it was too late. A ball of electricity had already formed at the end of Pikachu's tail, which just happened to be in Pyroar's mouth. There was a large explosion as Pyroar was sent flying backward, with Pikachu landing safely on the ground.

Pyroar landed hard, but managed to get back on its feet. It was clearly struggling. Its opponent, however, was still perfectly healthy. Pikachu was very well trained, and the crowd was loving its displays of strength.

"Alright, Pyroar! Give them a Hyper Beam!" Warren yelled. He wanted to end this with a single attack.

Ash's eyes widened when he heard the command. An attack that powerful would be devastating, but he knew Pikachu could pull though.

"Get ready, Pikachu," he told his partner. Pikachu nodded, but kept its eyes focused on its opponent.

Pyroar then let loose a powerful, purple beam of energy. Ash waited until the attack had almost reached the mouse pokemon before issuing his next command.

"Jump, Pikachu!" At seemingly the last possible moment, Pikachu leapt into the air, completely unharmed. "Now, give them another Thunderbolt!"

The lion-like pokemon had no time to react. The beam of electricity rocketed from Pikachu's body and struck it head on. Pyroar screeched in pain before it collapsed to the floor.

"Pyroar is unable to battle!" Clemont declared. "Pikachu is the winner and advances with Ash to the second round!"

"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air in celebration.

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered, mimicking its trainer before it ran and leapt into his arms.

"You were great, buddy!" he told the yellow pokemon.

The crowd cheered loudly for the winners. They were all impressed by how strong Pikachu was. As Ash looked around at the stands, he wondered why he was ever nervous in the first place. How could he be anything but confident with Pikachu by his side?

On the other side of the field, Warren thanked his pokemon before returning it to its pokeball. He and Ash then met at the center of the stadium again.

"That was impressive, Ash," Warren said. "Your Pikachu is really strong."

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu smiled at the praise.

"Thanks, Warren," Ash said. "Your Pyroar was good too. I'm not sure if we would have stood a chance against that Hyper Beam if it had hit."

The two shook hands again, and then Ash turned to wave animatedly at the crowd.

"Let's not waste any time and move on to match number two!" Clemont announced.

"Why don't we head over to the Pokemon Center?" Ash asked Pikachu. "I think it would be more interesting if we don't know what our opponent could be for the next round. Besides, you could use a checkup after that battle."

"Pikachu," the mouse pokemon agreed, and hopped onto Ash's shoulder as he exited the stadium.

Meanwhile, above the stadium, Froakie watched the victorious trainer with interest. After overhearing the conversation between him and the professor, it decided to judge the trainer for itself and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe this was the trainer it was looking for all this time.

* * *

Grace sat down on the living room couch with a cup of tea in her hands. She had just returned from Serena's afternoon Rhyhorn training, and it had been a particularly rough one. Grace had told Rhyhorn to do its best to throw Serena off its back, the intention being for her to learn to hold on no matter what the pokemon was doing beneath her. However, Serena's grip wasn't strong enough to hold onto the thrashing pokemon and ended up hitting the ground hard.

Grace called the practice off early so that Serena could get cleaned up and bandaged. Once that was taken care of, Grace relaxed and turned the TV on. She remembered that there was a small tournament being held in Lumiose City that day and figured she could watch that. The racer was never much of one for battling, but that didn't stop her from getting excited to watch a match.

"Hey, Serena," Grace called to her daughter in the kitchen, "there's a tournament being held in Lumiose City right now. Would you like to watch?"

Serena grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before closing it. She had a bandage on her cheek and another on the bridge of her nose, but thankfully she hadn't received more than a few small cuts. She had her hair tied back with a pink bow and changed into some more comfortable clothing, which consisted of a purple, short-sleeved hoodie and bright pink shorts.

"Would you like to be thrown face first into gravel?" Serena responded bitterly. Apparently, she still wasn't very happy with the day's events. Nevertheless, she still agreed to sit down at the couch across from her mother to watch. She could use something do distract her from the residual pain.

Grace gave her daughter a nervous smile, but was glad that she wasn't mad enough to lock herself in her room for the rest of the day. "It looks like they still have one more battle in the second round before the finals," she said.

"The second round of the semifinals will now begin!" the blue clothed referee called. "This will be a one on one battle between Kaitlin," he said, pointing toward a girl with long brown hair at one edge of the battlefield, before turning to the other, "and Ash!"

Grace raised an eyebrow at the name. She had heard it before, a long time ago. In fact, the young man they were referring to looked somewhat familiar to her. _'Isn't that…?'_ She looked to Serena for confirmation, but the look on her face told her all she needed to know.

When Serena had seen the boy with the Pikachu, her eyes widened. _'Could it be?"_ she thought. He looked so much like the boy from her childhood, with his hair being the most obvious sign. Her jaw dropped when she heard his name. _'He's here? In Kalos?'_

Serena couldn't contain the expression of shock and joy on her face, but Grace chose not to mention it for now.

Turning her attention back to what was actually happening, Serena noticed that Ash had chosen Pikachu while his opponent had chosen a Diggersby, a large rabbit-like pokemon with very large ears that double as extra arms.

"This will be a difficult battle for Pikachu," Grace stated.

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Serena asked.

"That Diggersby is a ground-type pokemon, so Pikachu's electric moves won't do anything to it," she informed.

"Well, it can still win, right?" Serena asked hopefully.

"Yes, but it won't be easy."

Serena nodded and returned her attention to the television. Despite never having seen him battle, Serena had full confidence in Ash. _'You can do it, Ash,'_ she thought.

Meanwhile, back in Prism Tower, Ash had just pocketed his Pokedex. He knew he was at an extreme disadvantage against a ground-type, but that wouldn't shake his confidence.

As soon as Clemont called for the battle to start, Kaitlin called for an attack. "Mud Shot, Diggersby!"

"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

Diggersby's mouth glowed orange which then quickly shot out several balls of mud at its opponent. They were fast, but Pikachu was faster. It skillfully dodged every part of the Mud Shot and charged at Diggersby.

"Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tail glowed white before it was quickly swung into Diggersby's side. It recoiled slightly, but stayed on its feet.

"Now use Hammer Arm!" Kaitlin yelled.

Before Pikachu could react, Diggersby's ears glowed white and slammed into it. Pikachu was sent flying across the field, bouncing against the floor once and then landing on its feet. That had been an incredibly hard hit. If they took more than one of those Pikachu would be in rough shape.

"Use Quick Attack!" Ash called out.

Once again, Pikachu sped off at an incredible speed. It looked like it would be a solid hit, but Kaitlin managed to call out a Double Team just in time. Several copies of the ground-type appeared, and Pikachu passed straight through its original target.

"Knock them down with a Thunderbolt!" Ash knew that it wouldn't hurt their opponent, but the move would be able to draw the real one out.

Pikachu quickly fired a bolt of electricity at each of the copies. Each time one was struck it would immediately disappear. But then one didn't. It held its ground and fired a Mud Shot that its trainer ordered. Pikachu again had no time to react to the attack and was pushed backward. It stayed on its feet, but was struggling.

Serena gasped as another attack hit Pikachu. She didn't think it would be able to take much more of this. _'Come on, Ash,'_ she thought.

"Quick Attack again!"

"Hammer Arm!"

Pikachu charged at Diggersby, its ears already glowing. It swung low to hit the electric pokemon, but Pikachu aimed high. The Hammer Arm missed entirely as Pikachu crashed into Diggersby's face, who was then sent spiraling through the air.

"Use Dig!" Kaitlin yelled.

In midair, the ground-type gained control and started spinning rapidly. It then hit the ground and disappeared, leaving a hole behind.

Normally, this would have been a terrifying moment for Ash and Pikachu. A Dig attack landing in the state that Pikachu was in would end the battle. Fortunately, they had a countermeasure for moments like these that they had picked up on back in Pallet Town. Already knowing what Ash was going to tell it next, Pikachu leapt high into the air.

"Use Iron Tail!" Ash called.

Pikachu slammed its glowing tail on the ground, causing it to break apart, and the force of the attack launched Diggersby up into the air. On Ash's command, Pikachu kicked off the ground fast at Diggersby and smashed it with another Iron Tail. The ground-type was hit nearly straight down and landed hard, but wasn't out yet.

"Finish with Quick Attack!"

The moment Pikachu touched the ground, it took off at Diggersby with blinding speed. Its target was unable to get out of the way and found itself sailing away after the impact. It collided with the stadium wall before collapsing to the ground, where it didn't get up.

"Diggersby is unable to battle!" Clemont declared. "Pikachu and Ash advance to the finals!"

"Yay! He won!" Serena exclaimed. She nearly jumped to her feet when Pikachu was declared the winner.

Grace simply gave her daughter a smile. It was nice to see her genuinely excited for a change. Recently, the best she got was when Serena got the day off from training. Upon seeing her mother's expression, Serena slouched back into her seat and attempted to hide the blush that was coming to her face.

"That was quite the match," Grace said. "That Pikachu is a tough one."

"Y-yeah, it is." Serena agreed.

They returned their attention back to the screen to see Ash cradling his worn out pokemon in his arms and congratulating it for its good work. Cameras followed him until he reached the door, apparently taking Pikachu to the nearby Pokemon Center to rest before the final match.

When it was announced that the final match would be one hour away, Grace stood up. "I think I'll go out for a bit while we wait," she said to Serena. "There are few things that I need to get from the store."

"Okay, I'll just stay here then," Serena said.

After quickly gathering her things, Grace hurried out the door. She would need to be fast if she wanted to see the other match. Once she was gone, Serena lied down on the couch.

"So Ash became a pokemon trainer," she thought out loud. She smiled. "And a strong one by the looks of things."

Serena let her mind start to wander. Thinking back, she remembered how Ash had talked about wanting to be a trainer when they were at camp. He probably became one as soon as he was able. Who knows how many places he had been to, or how well he's done? Serena had to guess he was doing spectacularly in other Pokemon Leagues. He also probably made lots of friends with both people and pokemon.

She then thought about what she had done in her life, and wasn't too happy about it. Aside from the training with her mother and Rhyhorn, she hadn't done a whole lot. She didn't leave Vaniville Town very often, and when she did it was usually because her mother had something to do in Lumiose City and she decided to tag along. Other than that, most of what she did on a regular basis consisted of helping Grace out around the house, reading fashion magazines, and, most recently, sleeping.

' _What would it be like to be a pokemon trainer?'_ Serena asked herself. She had never considered it too seriously in the past, but this encounter with Ash – which she had seen for the first time in years not even thirty minutes ago – got her thinking.

She thought about how many different things she might encounter if she were to become a trainer and start traveling. She might even find something she is passionate about in the process. Serena had always told herself that she wanted to find out what her dream was before she left home, but was starting to realize how silly that was. At the very least, she might make some new friends, and there was even the chance of meeting…

"I'm home!" Grace yelled as she burst through the door, pulling Serena from her thoughts in the process. "Did I miss anything?"

Serena sat up and looked at the clock. "No, it looks like you're just in time," she said.

"Good." Grace set a couple of grocery bags on the kitchen counter and returned to the living room to sit down. "Did you move at all while I was gone?" she asked.

"Of course I did, mom," Serena lied. "Isn't that right, Fletchling?"

Fletchling shook its head from across the room, and Serena scowled at the small bird pokemon for not backing her up.

"Don't worry about it, Serena," Grace told her, laughing a little. "It isn't a big deal. Oh, I think it's starting."

Ash and another trainer were already standing on opposite ends of the battlefield. Serena was relieved to see that Pikachu seemed to doing just fine after the previous battle and was ready for more.

"The final battle between Ash and Spencer will now begin! Both trainers may now send out their pokemon!" Clemont announced.

"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash yelled, as Pikachu once again jumped off his shoulder and onto the battlefield.

"Heliolisk, you're up!" his opponent, Spencer, called as he tossed a pokeball forward. Spencer had very short brown hair and wore glasses. From his pokeball emerged a black and yellow lizard pokemon. Ash saw this pokemon fight during the previous round, so he already had an idea of what it was capable of.

"Begin!" Clemont declared.

"Use Thunderbolt!" both trainers yelled simultaneously.

Pikachu and Heliolisk both launched a bolt of electricity at their opponent. The collision of the two instantly created a large explosion. Both appeared to be equal in power, but neither were willing to back down.

"Now use Iron Tail, Pikachu!"

"Counter with your own, Heliolisk!"

As the smoke from the previous attacks cleared, both pokemon leapt forward at an incredible speed. Their tails glowed white before slamming into each other. The impact had so much force behind it that the crowd in the stadium felt a small shock wave coming from the two pokemon. They each landed on either side of the field, relatively unharmed.

Ash couldn't help but smirk at the battle. This was going to be a good one.

"Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.

"Knock it back with Iron Tail!" Spencer countered.

Pikachu might have been fast, but that Heliolisk could certainly keep up with it. Seeing that its Iron Tail would be ready before Pikachu reached it, he changed strategies. "Jump over it and use Electro Ball!"

Just as the generator pokemon swung its tail out, Pikachu jumped and sailed straight over its head. It then took the speed from the Quick Attack and turned it into an aerial spin while it charged a sphere of electricity in its tail. When it let the attack loose, the added momentum from the technique greatly increased its speed and made it impossible to dodge.

The crowd gasped at the combination as Heliolisk landed clear on the other side of the field and shakily got to its feet. Despite being an electric-type, that Electro Ball had done significant damage.

"Give them a Parabolic Charge, Heliolisk!" its trainer called.

Heliolisk spread its frills around its neck and looked toward the ceiling. It then shot a large bolt of electricity straight up, which exploded into many different pieces that rained down onto the battlefield.

"Do your best to dodge, Pikachu!" Ash told it.

Pikachu weaved between the falling electricity, but was soon cornered and was struck by the attack. It cried out in pain while Heliolisk glowed a faint green color to signify that it had healed from the attack.

"Now use Dragon Pulse!" Spencer called.

Heliolisk quickly gathered a large amount of multicolored energy in its mouth and fired it at the mouse pokemon. The beam of energy formed in the shape of a dragon as it approached its target. Still recovering from the previous attack, Pikachu didn't have much time to dodge. It did manage to get out of the way of the attack, but was still caught in the explosion was sent skidding across the ground, struggling to keep its footing.

"Are you okay, buddy?" Ash asked his injured pokemon.

"Pika!" it exclaimed, signaling it was okay to go on.

"Great! Now give them your best Quick Attack!"

"Parabolic Charge!"

Pikachu darted at Heliolisk and crashed into it hard, but not before it got off another Parabolic Charge. Heliolisk landed a short distance away as its attack exploded in the sky. As Pikachu dodged the bolts the best it could, Ash had an idea.

"Knock back those bolts with Iron Tail!" he called.

Pikachu dodged another bolt before leaping into the air. A bolt of electricity appeared directly in front of it as it smacked it with its glowing tail, straight at Heliolisk. The lizard-like pokemon was too surprised by this turn of events to even try to get out of the way, and cried in pain as it fell to its knees.

When Heliolisk looked up again, it saw its opponent mere inches from its face before it was slammed square on the top of the head with an Iron Tail. The force of the attack brought Heliolisk crashing to the ground, while Pikachu landed safely next to its trainer.

"Heliolisk is unable to battle!" Clemont declared. "Therefore, the winners of the match and the tournament are Ash and Pikachu!"

"You were great, buddy!" Ash exclaimed as he fell to his knees and the mouse pokemon leapt into his arms.

"Pi, pikachu!" Pikachu cheered, and the two sat there on the ground, laughing away together.

Back at home, Serena was jumping for joy at Ash's win. That had been one of the most exciting battles she had seen in a long time, and Ash came out the victor. When she remembered that her mother could see her reaction, Serena sheepishly sat back down on the couch.

"You're allowed to cheer, Serena," Grace reminded her.

Serena relaxed a little and watched the boy and his partner celebrating their win on the floor of the stadium. She hardly even knew them, but it was clear that Ash and Pikachu were the best of friends. Serena then thought about how amazing it would be if she could have a bond that strong with a pokemon of her own.

' _That settles it,'_ Serena thought. _'I'll become a pokemon trainer.'_

* * *

Roughly an hour had passed since his victory against Spencer and his Heliolisk. Seeing as Pikachu was still in relatively decent health, he had stuck around converse with the other competitors and various crowd members. In the meantime, he had given his partner an Oran Berry to recover its strength and some pokemon food which was made specifically for Pikachu.

Most of the people in the Lumiose Gym had cleared out at this point, and Ash was getting ready to leave himself when Clemont and Bonnie approached him.

"That was something else, Ash," Clemont said. "I have to say that I can't wait for you to challenge me to a Gym Battle."

"Thanks, Clemont," Ash said.

"Your Pikachu is so strong!" Bonnie exclaimed. "And it's so cute too!" she added as she bent over to pet the mouse pokemon at Ash's feet.

"Chaa!" Pikachu cooed in affection. It may be tough, but this was by far its biggest weakness.

"I should let you know that I usually recommend that trainers have four badges before challenging me," Clemont informed. "But I never turn down a challenge and I can tell that you would be ready to face me anyway."

Ash gave what Clemont said some thought before he responded. "If you recommend four badges to challenge you, then that's what I'll do. I'll train hard until then and give you the greatest battle of your life!" He then held his hand out to Clemont.

"I'll look forward to it," Clemont told him as he accepted the handshake. "If you don't mind me saying, I think the best place to go from here is Santalune City, just to the southeast of Lumiose. It's where a lot of trainers attempt to get their first gym badge."

"Thanks again, Clemont. We'll do that," he said before turning to Pikachu. "Well, Pikachu, I think it's time we get over to the Pokemon Center," he told his partner. Pikachu showed his agreement by hopping onto Ash's shoulder. "I guess we'll see you two again soon," he said to the siblings.

They all waved to each other as Ash made his way to the exit. As he left, he heard Bonnie yell, "Bye, Ash! Bye, Pikachu!" Her excitement made Ash smile.

Ash stepped out of Prism Tower and made his way to the nearby Pokemon Center for the third time that day. Night had finally fallen, but the city didn't seem to have gotten any darker. They could still see their surroundings perfectly, and they wouldn't have thought it was as late as it was if it wasn't for a certain sound that suddenly came from Ash's stomach.

Ash laughed at his own hunger. It had been a long day. "Well, why don't we go eat as much as we can tonight, buddy? I think we deserve it after a day like today."

"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed triumphantly.

With that, the two of them ran to the Pokemon Center.

* * *

Serena sat at the dinner table, deep in thought. Only an hour ago had she decided she wanted to go on a journey of her own, but she wasn't sure she could bring herself to tell her mother about it. _'Would she even let me go?'_ she thought. _'What about Rhyhorn Racing? Would she make me stay home and continue doing that?'_ Serena's mind was racing with all sorts of fears and doubts and had no idea what to do.

"Serena?"

The sound of Grace's voice nearly made Serena jump out of her chair. "W-what?"

"Is everything okay?" Grace asked. "You've hardly touched your food."

Serena looked down at her plate. She had nearly forgotten it was even there. "I'm just… thinking about something," she responded.

Grace reached out and gently rubbed her daughter's shoulder. "You can tell me about anything, honey."

"I know, mom." Was this something she wanted to do? Yes. Yes, it was. She was sick of training with Rhyhorn and had been inspired by Ash's battles today to finally do something about it. If there was ever a time to tell her about this, it was now.

"I want to travel!" she blurted out. She immediately covered her mouth. Serena had practically yelled right at her mother. She silently waited for a response, but what she saw surprised her.

Grace was looking at her with a gentle smile. "Does that mean you'll be a pokemon trainer?" she asked.

"Y-yes," Serena replied.

"In that case, you can leave for Lumiose City tomorrow to get your first pokemon from Professor Sycamore," Grace told her.

Serena's jaw dropped. "Really?" she asked. "You're not mad or anything? What about the training with Rhyhorn?"

"Of course I'm not mad," Grace said. "I think it's great that you want to go out there and see the world. Besides, if you can find something you love more than Rhyhorn Racing, I'll support you regardless."

"Oh, mom," Serena mumbled as she got out of her chair to hug her mother. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I'm so proud of you, no matter what," Grace told her daughter. They then released each other before she continued. "Now, you better eat up. You'll need your strength for tomorrow."

"Right!" Serena exclaimed as she sat back down and started shoveling food into her mouth.

Grace couldn't be happier for her daughter. It had taken some work, but Serena was finally going to leave on her own journey. Strangely enough, her childhood friend had been the one to finally spark the fire. She just hoped that everything would work out for Serena in the end.

* * *

For one of the first times in months, Vaniville Town had a completely peaceful morning. Serena had gotten up early, and she couldn't have been more excited. Today was the day she would start her journey.

The moment she woke up, Serena shot out of bed, got changed, and zipped down the stairs with her bag that she had packed the night before. She had put on a dark gray top with a red skirt, and let her hair fall down her back naturally, with the top of her head covered with a pink hat.

Serena found Grace already in the kitchen, who was preparing a couple of sandwiches for the road.

"You're up early," Grace said.

"Wouldn't you?" Serena responded with a giggle.

"I suppose so," Grace answered. She then wrapped the sandwiches before handing them to Serena. "I've prepared food for your trip to Lumiose City, but after that you'll have to fend for yourself."

"Okay. Thanks, mom," Serena said as she took the food and packed them into her bag.

"Are you sure you grabbed everything?"

"Yes, mom. I'm sure." She made sure she had an extra change of clothes, her tablet that she would use as a map and guidebook, and some other necessities. She had made certain to grab Ash's handkerchief as well.

"Okay, I'll trust you," Grace said, "but you can't stop me from worrying about you." She then wrapped her daughter in a hug.

"I'll be fine mom," Serena said as she returned the hug. "I promise."

"You better get going," Grace told Serena as she released her. "If you leave now, you can take a bus to Santalune City and make it to Lumiose on foot by the afternoon."

"Okay, mom!" she exclaimed as she ran out the door. "I'll call you when I get there! Bye!"

"Good luck, Serena!" Grace called to her.

"Bye, Rhyhorn! Bye, Fletchling!" Serena yelled to the pokemon in the yard as she ran by them. The pokemon cried out to her as well to say goodbye.

Serena was so excited. She was finally getting out of the house to go on her own journey. She would make new friends, and might even find something she is passionate about on the way. Best of all, there was a chance she could run into Ash in the process.

If only she knew how soon it would be.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thank you all so much for your feedback on Chapter 1! I can't say I was expecting so many people to like this story so much already. I mean, over fifty followers in two days? That already puts this story in the top ten most followed of any pokemon story published here in the past month! So, thanks again for that! Because of this, I decided to post this chapter a few days earlier than I intended as a bonus to you guys.

Anyway, with the sappy stuff out of the way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The main purpose of this chapter was for Serena to realize that Ash was in Kalos and inspire her to get out of the house. I really wanted to find a way to get Ash on television in some form or another without using Team Rocket as a plot device to make him jump off a building. Therefore, televised tournament.

Let me know if you thought the battles were good or not. I tried to keep them interesting without letting them drag out longer than they needed to. While you're at it, any feedback about the story, how it's written, or anything else is appreciated. Whether it's something you liked or something you didn't, I'd love to hear it, but keep it constructive.

It will probably be a week or so before I release the next chapter. It's ready for proofreading now but I'll be quite busy with various school projects for a while, and I'd rather not release it early and have you all waiting for weeks for the next one if I can prevent it.

Things should start to pick up a bit in the next one. Until then!


	3. Route 4

Chapter 3: Route 4

It was late in the morning, and Serena stood on the edge of Santalune City, the halfway point from Vaniville Town to Lumiose City, at the start of Route 4. At the other end, she would be getting her first pokemon. It was also the last known location of her childhood friend, and running into him would be an incredible bonus.

"Lumiose City, here I come," she told the world.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu were just leaving Lumiose City after having finished lunch. Despite wanting to get to Santalune City as quickly as possible, the pair was so exhausted from the previous day's battles that they had slept through most of the morning. Now they were entering Route 4, which would take them straight to his next destination.

"Are you excited, Pikachu?" Ash asked the pokemon on his shoulder. "I know I am."

"Pi, pikachu," it replied happily.

"We'll need to make sure we catch another pokemon before we make it to Santalune City. We need at least two to participate at the Santalune Gym," Ash said. For whatever reason, the Santalune Gym was a two-on-two match whereas most of the others in Kalos were three-on-three.

The path they were on quickly led to a forested area that they would walk through to get to Santalune City. As far as Ash was aware, the trip was relatively straightforward and should only take them a couple of hours.

As they walked, Ash and Pikachu started looking around for other pokemon, but weren't finding anything. "Maybe it's because we're so close to the city?" Ash wondered. "Maybe we'll find some farther out."

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

The two continued for a while, watching carefully for anything the whole way. Nearly thirty minutes went by and still nothing appeared. Surely some kind of pokemon would have shown itself by now, right?

"This is getting strange," Ash said.

Suddenly, they heard a bush rustling behind them, and Ash and Pikachu turned with wide eyes. What could it be? Ash quickly pulled out his Pokedex to scan whatever might come out.

Two large, black and white bear-like pokemon stepped into view, and they didn't look too happy. The Pokedex immediately spoke up. "Pangoro, the Daunting Pokemon. It charges ahead and bashes its opponents like a berserker, uncaring about any hits it might take. Its arms are mighty enough to snap a telephone pole."

The Pangoro heard the robotic voice and quickly turned to face Ash and Pikachu. Each then fired a purple beam from its hands, a Dark Pulse. Ash managed to dive out of the way just in time to avoid the attack. When he looked again, both pokemon started running toward them.

"Looks like we have to fight them," Ash said, and Pikachu took a battle stance. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu immediately shot a bolt of electricity at the charging pokemon, briefly stopping them in their tracks. Ash and Pikachu grimaced when the Pangoro came at them once again, even angrier than before.

"Alright, give them an Electro Ball!"

The electric-type swiftly leapt into the air with a ball of electricity forming on its tail. At the peak of its jump, Pikachu spun and threw the attack at one of the Pangoro, causing it to stumble backward. The other, however, was on track to intercept Pikachu's fall.

"Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tail started to glow as it fell. It swung at the Pangoro with everything it had, which was met by a Hammer Arm. There was a brief struggle, but Pikachu quickly overpowered its opponent and forced it into the ground. They had no time to celebrate though, as the second daunting pokemon was coming for them with a Hammer Arm of its own.

"Jump out of the way, Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

The mouse pokemon leapt out of harm's way with time to spare and landed on the other side of the angry pokemon. However, with its original target gone, it found a new one: Ash.

Recognizing this, Ash started to back up, but it was too late. "Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash managed to yell before a Hammer Arm slammed into his side, throwing him onto his back several feet away. As he struggled to stand again, he watched Pikachu crash into the attacker's back, making it fall to its knees.

While Ash tried to pull himself into a sitting position, his eyes at the sight of the first Pangoro getting up again. It was about to fire a Dark Pulse from behind Pikachu, who was still focused on the other one. He had to be quick to get Pikachu out of this one.

"Jump again!" Ash yelled as he tried to forget about the pain in his side.

Without hesitation, Pikachu was once again high in the air, and only a moment before it would have been blasted by the Dark Pulse. The relief of Pikachu dodging didn't last long though, since both immediately realized their mistake; Ash was vulnerable once again, and was weak from the previous attack he had sustained.

Both Pangoro turned their attention to Ash, who scrambled to his feet and tried to get away. "Thunderbolt!" he called desperately.

Pikachu launched its electricity toward the foes as it fell, but it was only able to strike the one farther from Ash. Pikachu's target once again fell to the ground, clearly exhausted from the damage it had taken.

The mouse pokemon gasped in horror as it watched the healthier Pangoro get closer and closer to its trainer. "Pika-pi!" it cried, and without waiting for a command, launched into a Quick Attack the moment it hit the ground. Pikachu hurdled over the fallen pokemon and connected with the back of the other's head, but not before the Pangoro had reached Ash.

Ash was hit hard with another Hammer Arm, and he was forced into the air, landing in the bushes on the edge of the trail. He struggled to get up, but found it nearly impossible to move. He could only watch as Pikachu did its best to fight off the two pokemon on its own, but without Ash as a second set of eyes, Pikachu would eventually be hit by an attack it couldn't see coming.

He didn't have to wait long. The mouse pokemon was hit from behind by a Dark Pulse and was grabbed by one of the pokemon. It tried to escape by electrocuting its captor, but the Pangoro managed to hold on while the other stuck Pikachu with yet another Hammer Arm. Ash's vision started to blur as he saw the first Pangoro dangled Pikachu by the tail, and the second charged a focus punch.

' _How could I have let this happen?'_ Ash thought. _'How could I let my guard down like that?'_

Ash blacked out before he the final blow was delivered to Pikachu.

* * *

Serena had passed through Santalune City almost an hour ago, but she was taking her time to enjoy everything along the way. The forest was beautiful this time of year. It was now mid Fall in Kalos, and the leaves were beginning to change colors. All the reds and yellows around her was truly a sight to behold.

There were plenty of pokemon around as well. The honey-haired girl could see some Bunnelby, Fletchling, and Flabebe in various places from the path, among some other pokemon not native to Kalos, and they all seemed to living happily.

"This place is so peaceful," Serena told herself.

As if on cue, the atmosphere was broken by a loud crash nearby. Pokemon of all types scattered away from the sound as quickly as they could manage. Serena quickly ran toward the noise to see what happened.

What Serena saw when she arrived at the source of the noise scared her. There was a small hole in the ground, and there seemed to be something inside it. As she approached, she gasped. It was a Pikachu.

She ran to the injured mouse pokemon and carefully picked it up. It was horribly beaten and bruised. "Don't worry, Pikachu. I'll get you to a Pokemon Center right away," she tried to assure it, but her hands were already trembling.

"Pika...pi..." it whimpered before passing out in her arms. As fast as she could manage, Serena sprinted back toward Santalune City.

Serena's mind was racing. _'How could this even happen?'_ she thought as she ran. As she watched the pokemon in her arms, her mind turned to the only Pikachu she knew. _'Could this be… no. It couldn't possibly be his. Right?'_

Serena managed to make it back to the city in roughly ten minutes. She was almost completely out of energy, but if she didn't make it to the Pokemon Center fast enough… She didn't want to imagine the consequences.

Serena made it to the Pokemon Center a minute later and burst through the doors. "Help me! Please!" she cried.

The pink haired nurse behind the desk quickly snapped to attention, and gasped when she saw the state of the pokemon in the girl's arms. "Wigglytuff! Stretcher, now!" she yelled. She then ran to Serena and carefully took the Pikachu from her arms. "What happened?" She asked, almost angrily.

"I-I-I don't know," Serena choked out, tears falling freely down her face. "I was walking, and, and I heard a noise, and it was just l-lying there in a hole in the ground! I ran as f-fast as I could!" Serena could barely hold herself together. She was terrified that she hadn't made it in time.

"You did the right thing," the nurse said, trying to comfort the crying girl as much as she could while a large pink pokemon brought a stretcher for Pikachu. "I promise, I'll do everything I can to help it."

"Th-thank you," Serena mumbled. The nurse and Wigglytuff then ran with Pikachu to the emergency room.

Serena made her way to a chair in the waiting area of the lobby and tried to calm down. She told herself that she had done everything she could.

This had to be, hands down, the worst first day of a journey ever. She left home only a few hours ago and already she had run into trouble. Why couldn't she just have a normal day? Why was she the unlucky one?

Serena had to force those thoughts out of her head. If she hadn't been there, Pikachu might not have been found. It was a stroke of luck she happened to be so close at the time.

"Please be okay, Pikachu..."

* * *

Ash awoke to something gently poking him on the forehead. He groaned as he opened his eyes. Staring down at him, just inches from his face, was a small bird pokemon. It had a red head, white body, and black tail-feathers.

"Ling?" it asked.

Despite still being a bit out of it, he had remembered what had happened to him. "Pikachu!?" he yelled as he shot up into a sitting position, but flinched at the pain that shot through him. He had been hit hard, but he would have to tough it out.

"Ling!" the bird pokemon chirped.

Ash turned to face it and saw that the pokemon was now standing behind a piece of fruit. It was using its beak to nudge it closer to Ash.

"Oh, did you get this for me?" Ash asked, and the pokemon nodded. "Thank you."

As Ash bit into the fruit, he looked up to the sky. It was hard to tell how long he had been out, but it had probably been an hour or two. He then took out his Pokedex to scan the pokemon that had helped him. It wasn't exactly the ideal time for this, but he at least needed to know its name.

"Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokemon. These friendly pokemon send signals to one another with beautiful chirps and tail-feather movements," the machine said.

"Fletchling, I'm looking for my friend, Pikachu," Ash told it. "Do you happen to know it went?"

Fletchling shook its head. It wanted to help, but it only just arrived. The best it could do is help him search. It put a determined look on its face and flapped its wings.

"Will you help me find Pikachu?" Ash asked, seeing Fletchling's expression.

"Fletchling!" the robin pokemon chirped, nodding.

"Thank you so much, Fletchling!" he exclaimed. Ash then shakily got to his feet. He was in a lot of pain, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. "Could you keep an eye out for those Pangoro as well? The last thing we need is to run into them."

Fletchling nodded and took to the sky. Ash followed closely behind it. It would be difficult to find a single pokemon in the forest, but Fletchling was determined to help no matter what it took.

Despite Fletchling's help, Ash was still incredibly worried. He had no idea where Pikachu was or if it was okay. The only way to find out was to press forward.

"Please be okay, Pikachu..."

* * *

Serena's eyes were glued to the light above the emergency room door. It had been close to thirty minutes since she had arrived at the Pokemon Center, and she was just as worried for Pikachu as before. Had she gotten it there fast enough? Would it be okay? Serena had somehow managed to dry her tears, but the tension she felt only got worse with every passing minute.

Her eyes widened as the light turned off. Whatever they were doing in there, they were finished. Serena stood and ran to the door of the emergency room, and a moment later Nurse Joy stepped out with a smile on her face.

"Pikachu is going to just fine," she told Serena. "It's lucky you were able to get here so quickly."

Serena breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much," she said.

"Pikachu is sleeping now, but you're welcome to visit with it," Nurse Joy said, gesturing to a nearby room.

Serena nodded and walked over. She looked in the window before she entered, and was thankful that Pikachu didn't look so bad. It had a few bruises, and it also had a bandage wrapped around its forehead, but she figured it could have been a lot worse.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened to Pikachu?" Serena asked.

"I don't," Nurse Joy answered. "From what you told me, it seemed like it had a nasty fall, and most of its injuries are probably from that. Thankfully, there were no serious internal injuries. Hard to tell how it got into a situation like that, though."

"So what can we do now?"

"Pikachu just needs time to rest," the nurse said. "It should be okay when it wakes up, but it will need a couple of days fully recover. I can't even imagine what might have happened to its trainer, though."

"You can tell that it has a trainer?"

"I'm certain of it," the nurse told her. "Injuries aside, it appears to be a very strong and healthy pokemon. It has obviously been taken care of very well, much better than a wild pokemon could ever achieve."

"Could it really be his?" Serena thought to herself. If this was Ash's Pikachu, then what happened to Ash? She shuddered at the thought.

"Hmm? Do you know this Pikachu?"

"No," Serena responded, "but I might have an idea who its trainer is. I'll ask Pikachu when it wakes up."

"Okay. You should go in," Nurse Joy told her, giving her a smile. Even if this girl wasn't Pikachu's trainer, it was nice to see someone care so much about it.

"I will. Thank you."

Serena quietly opened the door to the room and let herself inside. She then pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. "You poor thing," she whispered as she gently brushed Pikachu's short, yellow fur with her hand.

She sat back in the chair and watched the resting pokemon while she reflected on the day's events. How did she even get here? If she had been through the area where she found Pikachu at any other time, Serena wouldn't have even found it. Now, she found herself watching over it in the Santalune City Pokemon Center.

She had decided to help this Pikachu find its trainer. She suspected it belonged to Ash, and for no other reason than because she knew he had one, but wouldn't know until Pikachu woke up. Even if it wasn't his, Serena still wanted the best for this pokemon.

Also, what happened to its trainer? Were they okay? The thought of it being Ash only worried her more. She saw during that tournament that he and his Pikachu were a very powerful duo, so something awful must have happened for Pikachu to be beaten like it was.

The honey-haired girl sat silently for a long time, patiently waiting for the mouse pokemon to wake up. She tried to push any negative thoughts out of her head for the time being. Stressing over all the unknowns in this situation wouldn't help her. The best she could do for right now is be there for Pikachu.

Serena's eyes widened when she saw one of Pikachu's ears twitch. "Pika-pi?" it asked as its eyes opened. It looked around the room frantically before its eyes landed on Serena.

"Hey, Pikachu," Serena said with a warm smile. "How are you feeling?"

Pikachu relaxed slightly when it saw the face of the girl who had found it. The mouse pokemon then got to its feet and nodded to signal that it was fine. It winced slightly at the pain, but the treatment had certainly helped a lot.

"That's good," she told it gratefully. She paused before speaking again. There was something she absolutely had to know. "Pikachu, I have to ask you something."

"Pika?" it asked, though a bit weakly.

Serena thought it would be best to get this out of the way sooner rather than later. "Are you Ash's Pikachu?" she asked.

Pikachu's ears drooped and looked at Serena sadly as it nodded. The thought of Ash still being out there had it very worried.

There it was. That confirmed her suspicions, but it was difficult to be happy about it. Sure, she would probably be meeting Ash because of this, but she had no idea where he was or what condition he was in. "Pikachu, I'll make sure you find Ash again. I promise."

The electric-type nodded in understanding. It just had to hope that Ash didn't get into any more trouble.

"Oh right, I haven't introduced myself, have I?" the girl realized. "I'm Serena. I knew Ash when we were kids."

"Pi-pika?" it asked. Pikachu was genuinely surprised by this. It had been rescued by the same girl Ash had come here to find? What were the chances?

"So Ash told you about me then?" she wondered, seeing the face Pikachu made. Pikachu nodded, causing Serena to blush slightly. _'He did remember,'_ she thought.

There was a moment of silence between the girl and pokemon. The next part of their conversation was going to be an uncomfortable one, and both knew it. With a sigh, Serena decided to start. "What happened out there, Pikachu?"

Pikachu frowned at Serena. It didn't want to have to relive the experience, but it had to if it wanted to get its point across. It started acting out the attack for her, which wasn't difficult for the master of charades. It held its fists in the air, then it threw some punches at invisible enemies before falling and pretending to faint. It then got back up and threw some more punches, and finished by pointing from one end of the room to the other in an arc toward the sky.

Serena desperately tried to stop herself from giggling at the display. She couldn't help but notice how cute Pikachu was when it was acting like that, but this was a serious matter. She carefully watched the yellow pokemon describe what happened.

"I think I understand," she said. "You got into a fight, Ash was knocked out, and you were hit hard enough to end up here."

"Pika," Pikachu nodded with a half-smile, but it quickly faded again. The electric-type was happy that she had understood, but it was still worried about Ash. It was scared that the Pangoro might have continued to attack Ash after it was gone.

"You want to go find him, right?" Serena asked.

"Pikachu," it replied sadly as it looked toward the door.

Serena gave Pikachu a smile to comfort it the best she could. "I'll go talk to Nurse Joy," she said. "If you're feeling well enough, maybe she'll let us go look for Ash."

Before she could get up, Pikachu carefully hopped from the bed into Serena's lap. It wasn't quite feeling well enough to walk very far, especially after the theatrics it had just gone through, but it wasn't going to be left out of this conversation.

Serena let out a small laugh. "Okay, you can come too," she said. She gently wrapped the mouse pokemon in her arms before she stood and left the room.

They found the nurse in the main lobby, who was quite surprised to see Pikachu out of bed so soon. "Pikachu needs to be resting right now," she told them.

"I know," Serena responded, "but we both really want to find its trainer. He could be in more trouble than Pikachu."

"Pika-pi, pikachu."

"I don't suppose I can convince you to at least stay for the night, can I?" Nurse Joy asked. She knew it would be better for Pikachu if it got some more rest, but it didn't look like the two could be swayed. Seeing the girl and pokemon shake their heads, she sighed. "Okay, but please be careful."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Serena said.

Nurse Joy went to the counter at the back of the room and pulled something out of one of the drawers, then returned to them to hand it to Serena. "Have Pikachu drink this in an hour," she said. "It will help it recover faster."

Serena briefly released Pikachu with one of her arms to take the medicine. "I will."

The nurse then addressed Pikachu directly. "Absolutely no battling for you for the next three days," she told the electric-type. Pikachu nodded, but it didn't look happy about it.

"Good luck, you two," Nurse Joy said with a smile. "And make sure Pikachu makes it back to a Pokemon Center once you find its trainer. It will be fine enough for now, but another checkup will be necessary," she added.

"Okay. Thanks for everything!" Serena said.

"Pikachu!" the mouse pokemon exclaimed.

Serena left the Pokemon Center with Pikachu in her arms and made her way to Route 4 yet again. She was filled with an odd combination of excitement and fear for what lied ahead. On one hand, she would see Ash again, but on the other, he could be seriously injured, or worse. She pushed the thought away and told herself that Ash would have gotten to safety.

It wasn't until they had made it out of town that they realized how difficult it would probably be to find Ash. There were several miles between them and Lumiose City, and Ash could be anywhere. Serena sighed. "This… is going to take a while," she told Pikachu.

"Pika-pi," it said sadly as its ears drooped again.

"Hey, cheer up. I promised we would find him, didn't I?" Serena reassured the mouse pokemon. Pikachu nodded after hearing that, but didn't respond.

Serena kept her pace at a fast walk as they made their way toward Lumiose. If they wanted any chance of finding Ash and making it to the city before dark, they had to move quickly. The two started calling out for him as well, hoping he might be nearby.

"Ash?"

"Pika-pi?"

They continued this for a while, keeping to the path while yelling for Ash every minute or so. Unfortunately, the only responses they got were from wild pokemon that were disturbed by the noise. Serena couldn't help but notice that she was seeing less and less pokemon as they got farther from Santalune City, but decided not to worry about it.

As more time passed, their luck didn't get any better. There was still no sign of Ash no matter how much they called his name or how far they walked.

"Why don't we take a quick break?" Serena asked Pikachu. "You need to take that medicine."

"Pikachu," the mouse pokemon agreed.

Serena found a nice spot under a tree to sit down, and set Pikachu down next to her while she opened her bag to grab the medicine. She pulled out a small bottle with an orange liquid inside and held it out to Pikachu.

Pikachu took the bottle from Serena and took a sip. It made a twisted face at the flavor before finishing off the medicine as fast as it could. It then dropped the bottle and coughed a couple of times.

Serena laughed. "Here, I have some water," she said as she pulled a pink water bottle from her bag. She took off the cap and poured some water into it before handing it to Pikachu. Pikachu quickly drank the water to get rid of the taste of medicine in its mouth and gave it back to Serena.

"Pika!" it thanked her.

"You're welcome, Pikachu," she said. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Pi, pikachu!" it said, smiling.

"That's good," Serena said. It was remarkable just how well it was feeling already, considering how she had found it only a short while ago. It could barely move then, and now Pikachu was enjoying itself out on the road again. She knew it was probably still quite sore and certainly couldn't fight, but Pikachu wouldn't let that bother it too much. "I hope we find Ash soon."

"Pika," the electric-type told her with a determined expression on its face. They couldn't give up yet.

Serena smiled and nodded at Pikachu. "You two are best friends, aren't you?" she asked.

"Pikachu," it confirmed.

"You're so lucky to have each other," she told Pikachu. "I actually watched you and Ash compete in that tournament yesterday. It inspired me to start a journey of my own. I thought that if I could have a bond with a pokemon even half as strong as what you have with Ash, it would be worth it."

Pikachu had to agree. It couldn't imagine what it would be like if it had never met Ash. They did absolutely everything together, and each would do anything they could to help the other.

"You were really strong, by the way," Serena added. "I don't think very many pokemon could do most of the things I saw."

Pikachu beamed at the praise. This girl certainly knew how to get on its good side. Pikachu crawled up Serena's back and onto her shoulder to nuzzle her cheek.

"Pikachu! That tickles!" Serena laughed. She then reached up and scratched the mouse pokemon underneath its chin.

"Chaa!" it cried happily.

"Okay, are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed, pointing forward to signal for Serena to get moving.

"Are you going to be okay up there? I can carry you again if you want."

Pikachu nodded to tell her that it was fine where it was. It had enough strength by now to hold on. Besides, Pikachu's preferred method of travel was by shoulder.

"Well, then let's get going!" Serena said as she put her things away in her bag and got to her feet. The extra weight of the pokemon on her shoulder was strange at first, but she quickly got used to it. She and Pikachu then continued traveling toward Lumiose City in search of Ash.

After only a couple of minutes, Serena realized something. "Where did all the pokemon go? Shouldn't there be a bunch of them around here?"

The thought sent a shiver down Pikachu's spine. It was reminded of the encounter with the Pangoro and hoped they wouldn't see them again.

"Is everything okay, Pikachu?" Serena asked, feeling the pokemon on her shoulder tense up slightly.

"Pika," it responded nervously. It hoped it was just being paranoid.

"Come on, let's keep searching," she told Pikachu, and started to call out for Ash again. Pikachu still felt a little uneasy, but helped Serena anyway.

Like before, they still found no sign of Ash anywhere. Pikachu hoped that Ash was fine and was out looking for it, because it didn't want to think about the alternative. If Ash was out there, they would find him eventually.

It wasn't long before they finally heard something. Serena and Pikachu turned around, expecting Ash to show himself. Instead, what they saw caused Pikachu to freeze in terror. It was the two Pangoro.

Serena, unaware that these were the ones that had put Pikachu in a hospital bed, simply watched them. The Pangoro hadn't noticed them yet. Once Pikachu got over the initial shock, it started to pull frantically at Serena's shirt collar to get her to run.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Serena asked.

When the Pangoro heard Serena, they immediately turned to stare at her. They didn't look happy. Finally understanding what Pikachu was trying to tell her, she pulled the mouse pokemon into her arms again and started running for her life. The Pangoro quickly followed.

"Are you kidding me!?" Serena screamed. "What did we do!?"

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu yelled back. This isn't the time for that! Run first and ask questions later!

Serena had never been forced to run like she had that day. This was the second time that Serena found herself at a full sprint, and it was starting to take its toll. "I don't think I can outrun them for much longer!" she yelled. She looked back and found that the Pangoro were already starting to close the gap between them.

Serena felt tears start to roll down her face. She was absolutely terrified. "Somebody! Help us!" she shrieked.

It was then that Serena heard a chirping sound from above. A small bird pokemon was flying directly toward them, which Serena recognized as a Fletchling. Its wings glowed white as it approached, then stopped to wave them back and forth, releasing crescent-shaped waves of energy straight at the Pangoro.

The attack collided with the large pokemon at their feet, causing them to trip and fall. The Fletchling then started to circle Serena as she continued to run, as if it was signaling something.

Serena looked forward, in the direction that the Fletchling had come from, and saw a figure running toward them in the distance. He was dressed in blue, a red hat, and had black hair.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu cried.

"Ash!" Serena yelled.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled back.

When they got close enough, Pikachu leapt from Serena's arms and into Ash's. "I'm so happy you're okay!" Ash said as he hugged his partner. Meanwhile, Fletchling landed on Ash's head. "Thank you, Fletchling," he told it.

Ash then looked to face the honey-haired girl that had brought Pikachu to him. For some reason, he thought she looked kind of familiar. "And th–" Ash started, but he caught sight of the Pangoro getting up behind her. "Fletchling! Can you distract them again?" he asked.

"Ling!" it responded, before taking off and firing another attack. It hit the ground in front of the Pangoro, which kicked up a large amount of dirt.

"Hurry! This way!" Ash quickly grabbed Serena's hand and pulled her off the trail, deeper into the forest. Fletchling fired one more attack for good measure before following them.

They ran for several minutes while constantly checking to see if they were still being followed. Only once Ash thought that they had finally lost the Pangoro did he stop and release her hand.

The girl fell to her knees in exhaustion. "This day just keeps getting crazier," she panted. Ash collapsed as well, still burdened by his earlier injuries.

After a few moments, Ash managed to find the strength to stand again. Deciding that this was a good time to tell him, Pikachu climbed up to Ash's shoulder. "Pi-pika, pikachu," it whispered into its trainer's ear.

Ash gave his partner a curious look. _'Really? Is this her?'_ he thought. He took a closer look at the girl before him. Her hair was longer than what he remembered, but it was the exact same color. Then she stood up again and looked at Ash. Behind the few tears that she was trying to wipe away were bright blue eyes. She looked just like the girl with the straw hat.

"Serena?"

"Ash?"

There was a moment of silence, but then Serena stepped forward to wrap Ash in a hug. She squeezed him a bit too tightly though, as Ash groaned from the pain.

"Sorry! Sorry!" she cried. She quickly loosened her grip on her childhood friend.

"It's fine," Ash told her, then returning the hug. "I'm just a little sore."

Pikachu had carefully hopped to the ground next to Fletchling in the commotion. The two pokemon quickly introduced themselves while the other two had their moment.

Ash and Serena held each other for a moment longer in silence. When they broke from the hug and their eyes met again, both blushed slightly. Pikachu and Fletchling smiled at the scene. They could already tell that there was something going on between those two.

"So, uh, you found Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"I did," Serena told him. "I happened to be nearby when I heard Pikachu land from its fall and I carried it to the Pokemon Center as fast as I could."

"Thank you, Serena," he said gratefully.

"I just did what anyone would have done, really," Serena admitted. "But after I realized it was yours, I wasn't going to leave it there." Hearing this, Pikachu once again crawled up to Serena's shoulder to nuzzled her, and Serena smiled.

"Well, I can tell that Pikachu likes you already," Ash told her. "It won't do that for just anyone. You wouldn't believe how long it took for Pikachu to be comfortable with riding on my shoulder like that."

"Pika, pikachu." the yellow pokemon said, smirking. It remembered just how little they got along at the start. Ah, the good old days.

"Really?" Serena asked as she petted Pikachu. "You two look so close now, it's hard to believe anything else."

"Hmm? How could you…?" Ash trailed off. She wouldn't have been able to see the two together until just a few minutes ago. How could she be so certain?

"I watched you compete in Prism Tower yesterday," Serena explained. "Like I told Pikachu already, you two looked really strong together."

"Oh, you saw that?" Ash asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah." Serena smiled and looked up to the sky. They couldn't have more than an hour of daylight left. "Hey, I think we should get moving," she suggested. "I would like to get out of this forest before dark."

"You're right. We certainly wouldn't want to risk running into those Pangoro again."

"Do you have any idea why they're so angry?" Serena's asked.

"I was going to ask you that," Ash answered.

"That reminds me, are you okay?" she asked in worry. "Pikachu said you got hit pretty hard, too."

"I'm a bit bruised up, but I'll be fine." Realizing that he wasn't the only one who was bruised up, he looked to Pikachu. "How are you feeling, buddy?"

"Pikachu," it said with a smile.

Ash grinned at his partner in response. "That's great. Any idea which direction we should go?" he then asked Serena. "I think I got a bit lost while we were searching for Pikachu."

"I've got it," Serena said. She knelt and took her bag off her back. As she did so, Pikachu hopped off and went back to Ash. Serena opened her bag and pulled out a pink tablet. "This will tell us exactly where we are."

Ash walked over and looked at the device as she brought up the map and Fletchling landed on the brim of his hat to see as well. "We actually aren't too far from Lumiose City," Serena told the small group.

"Let's not waste any time, then," Ash said. "Which way to we need to go?"

Serena looked back down at the map before turning slightly and pointing. "That way."

"Fletchling, would you mind being our lookout again?" Ash asked the robin pokemon. "I know I've asked a lot of you, but..."

Before Ash could finish, Fletchling nodded and took off in the direction they planned to go.

"Thanks," Ash said. This Fletchling was incredible. It had helped him so much that day for no other reason than because it wanted to.

Ash, Serena, and Pikachu all followed Fletchling toward Lumiose. As they walked, Ash properly examined Pikachu's injuries. "It looks like you've seen some better days, buddy," he told it.

"Pika," it smiled weakly.

"Pikachu really is something else, Ash," Serena said. "I was so surprised when Pikachu was able to move around like it was when it woke up, and it's only gotten better since we left the Pokemon Center. I did promise Nurse Joy that I'd take Pikachu back for another checkup once we found you, though."

"I can see why," Ash mused. "I know I already said this, but thank you so much for helping Pikachu."

"You're welcome, Ash."

"So tell me. How is it that you, of all people, just happened to be the one to find Pikachu?"

Serena became a bit flustered at the question. "W-well, I was actually just starting a journey of my own, and happened to be on my way to Lumiose City," she said. "Watching you two battling yesterday inspired me, and I was kind of hoping to find you, too."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," she said nervously. "And what brings you to Kalos, Ash?"

"Oh, well," he started, and Pikachu patted him on the back to encourage him to continue, "I came to challenge the Pokemon League here, but I specifically chose to come to Kalos because of you."

Suddenly both teens were blushing again. Pikachu got the feeling it would be seeing a lot of this in the future.

Serena did her best to keep her composure. _'He really came here because of me?'_ she thought. Before she could sort out her thoughts, Ash spoke again.

"Wait, didn't you say that you were starting a journey?" Ash asked.

Serena pushed her sudden nervousness aside before answering. "Yes. I was on my way to see Professor Sycamore today before I found Pikachu."

Ash smiled at Serena. "That's so cool!" he exclaimed. "There's nothing like receiving your first pokemon. I still remember the day Professor Oak gave Pikachu to me."

"I didn't know Pikachu was a starter pokemon," Serena said.

"You're right, it's not," Ash told her. "We were a special case though. I woke up late that day and all the others had been chosen. Professor Oak then offered me the only pokemon he had left, which was Pikachu, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Ash smiled his partner and gave it a fist bump.

"Wow. You two must have gotten along well right from the start," Serena mused.

"Oh, no. Not at all," Ash said. "We hated each other." Serena nearly lost her footing in astonishment. "We were practically at each other's throats for our entire first day. But we quickly warmed up to each other. Didn't we, buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried in agreement.

"Okay then," Serena laughed. "So what have you two been doing since then?"

"We've been all over," Ash told Serena. "We've traveled to many different regions and met all sorts of friends. We also challenged the Pokemon League in each of those regions."

"How many have you participated in?"

"Five. Kalos will be my sixth."

"Have you ever won?"

"Unfortunately, no. But we came close once, about a year and a half ago."

Serena noticed that Ash and Pikachu both seemed the slightest bit annoyed now. She sensed there was a story there, but thought better than to bring it up. Instead, she suddenly had a question that she needed an answer for.

"What took you so long to come to Kalos?"

Pikachu looked at his trainer nervously. It knew the situation here, and was sure that it wouldn't end well if he answered truthfully.

"I guess I just hadn't thought about it," Ash replied. "I kind of forgot about you for a while."

"Oh," Serena mumbled sadly. How could he have forgotten? Meeting him was her most precious memory. Ash not feeling the same way, but also completely forgetting her as well was heartbreaking.

Pikachu grimaced at Ash's response. It knew he meant well, but he could be a dense idiot sometimes. Pikachu was about to smack its trainer in the back of his head, but he spoke again.

"But as soon as I remembered you and all the good times we had together, I found myself on a plane to Kalos. Two days later, here we are."

This lifted Serena's spirits again. Sure, he had forgotten, and she was a little angry at him for that, but he did come to see her as soon as he remembered. "Well, we're together again now. That's what matters."

"Yeah."

Pikachu sighed in relief. Somehow he had managed to dig himself out of that hole, but only barely. He would need to work on that.

"So, what have you been up to, Serena?" Ash asked.

Serena swallowed. She was worried about this coming up. "Oh, um, I haven't really done that much," she said nervously. "My mom started training me for Rhyhorn Racing not too long ago, but it wasn't for me. I was hoping that by finally starting my own journey that I could find something I enjoy."

"I'm sure you'll find something," he assured her.

"Thanks, Ash," Serena said. She suddenly grimaced. Talking about her mother had sparked a memory inside her. "My mom is probably worried sick. I told her I would call her from Lumiose when I got there, and that was supposed to be hours ago."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Ash said. "We know you're safe. You can call her when we get there."

"Okay, you're right," Serena said, her expression lightening.

Ash and Serena merged onto the main path of Route 4 as the light continued to fade. Fortunately, in the distance they could see the city illuminate the sky. They were getting close.

"Hey, Fletchling!" Ash called out. "I think we'll be fine from here!" The robin pokemon turned around from its position ahead of them and flew back to Ash, where it landed on the top of his head. "Thanks for everything today."

"Oh right! I haven't thanked you yet!" Serena exclaimed. "Thank you, Fletchling!"

"Ling!" it chirped happily.

Ash reached up to the robin pokemon, and it stepped onto his hand. He then brought it down to face him. "I don't know what I would have done without you today," he told it. "Would you like to come with me? I think we would make a great team."

"Fletchling!" it accepted.

Ash smiled. With his free hand, Ash pulled out a pokeball and held it up to the pokemon. Fletchling pecked it with its beak and was pulled into the ball. It 'dinged' instantly to indicate that it didn't put up a fight.

"I didn't know that Fletchling wasn't already yours," Serena said.

"Pika," Pikachu added. It thought the same.

"It found me and woke me up after we were attacked," Ash informed them. "Fletchling flew around and helped me search for you because it wanted to help."

"It sounds like you'll get along just fine," Serena told him. "If I know you like I think I do, you both like to help people who need it."

Ash simply smiled back in response. "This reminds me, will you be able to get your first pokemon tonight? I'm not sure if the lab will still be open this late."

"I don't know."

"I guess we'll find out when we get there."

The group sighed as they finally reached the entrance to Lumiose City. It had been a long day, and they were relieved it was almost over. Ash remembered that the lab wasn't far from them, so they decided to go straight there. As they approached, they saw that the gate was still open. Ash figured that it was fine go on in, so he walked up to the door and opened it, with Serena just behind him.

"Professor Sycamore?" Ash called as he entered the lab.

"Ash?" they heard a voice ask from down one of the hallways. A moment later, the professor appeared in the main lobby. He paused at the sight of Ash and Pikachu, who looked like they had seen better days. "What on earth happened to you two?"

"We ran into a bit of trouble on the way to Santalune City today," Ash told him.

"Well, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think we just need a little rest. But we didn't come here to talk about me," he said, gesturing to Serena.

"Hi professor, I'm Serena," the honey-haired girl introduced. "I was hoping to get my first pokemon today."

"I see. Well, in that case, let me go get the pokemon," he said. "I'll be back in a moment." He then disappeared down the hallway he came from.

"This is so exciting!" Ash said. "I can't wait to see them!"

"I think you might be more excited than I am," Serena told him.

"Why? You're about to meet your first partner! This should be the most exciting moment of your life!" Ash was ecstatic.

"Believe me, it is," she responded. "But I can tell that it would be difficult to beat you at this."

Pikachu nodded in agreement. Ash got like this over just about anything. It was amazed that Ash didn't completely flip out like he often did when he caught Fletchling earlier.

They then noticed the professor coming back toward them while holding a small tray with several pokeballs on it. Behind him, three small pokemon followed. They lined up in front of Serena, while Professor Sycamore stood to the side.

"These are the pokemon that I give to beginners in the Kalos region," he told her, and pulled a device out from his lab coat pocket to give to Serena. "This is your Pokedex. If you point it at a pokemon, it will automatically tell you about it. Please use it to learn about the pokemon that could become your partner before you choose."

Serena took the Pokedex from the professor and squatted down in front of the three pokemon. She turned the device on, which extended in her hands. She then pointed it at the first pokemon in the line.

The first was a green and brown pokemon with small spikes on its head. "Chespin, the Spiny Nut Pokemon. Chespin can flex the soft spikes on its head, making them so stiff and sharp that it can even pierce through stone," the robotic voice said. As the device spoke, the Chespin tried to show off by stiffening its spikes.

"Wow!" Serena exclaimed. "This is so cool!" She hopped over to the next pokemon.

The second was a yellow and red foxlike pokemon. "Fennekin, the Fox Pokemon. As it walks, it munches on a twig in place of a snack. It intimidates opponents by puffing hot air out of its ears." Fennekin watched Serena closely as the pokedex spoke.

The third was a blue frog-like pokemon with white bubbles surrounding its neck. "Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokemon. It protects its skin by covering its body in delicate bubbles. Beneath its happy-go-lucky air, it keeps a watchful eye on its surroundings." As the pokedex informed Serena about the pokemon, Froakie was watching… Ash, who was a little unsettled by the pokemon's glare.

"Have you decided who will be your partner?" Professor Sycamore asked.

The honey-haired girl didn't have to give it much thought. She could already tell which one she would get along with the most. "I have," she said, and she once again turned to the fox pokemon. "Fennekin, it's nice to meet you. I'm Serena."

Fennekin smiled when it realized it had been chosen. "Fen-ne!" it cried happily. Serena reached out to pet the small fire type, who cooed affectionately before leaping into its new trainer's arms. It liked her already. Serena laughed as she stood back up, holding her new pokemon.

Looking at the other two pokemon, Chespin had fallen over in disbelief. It was so certain that it would be chosen today. Froakie helped the pokemon back up before patting it on the back a few times to comfort it. The grass-type shortly walked off in disappointment.

"Marvelous!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed. He then reached into his lab coat again, pulled out a pokeball, and handed it to Serena. "This is Fennekin's pokeball." Serena took it and pocketed it for now. She would keep Fennekin out of its pokeball tonight. The professor also held out the tray of pokeballs. "And these are your extra pokeballs that you can use to catch new pokemon."

"Thank you, professor!" Serena said as she took the five pokeballs and put them in her bag.

"It was my pleasure, Serena," he told her. "I wish you two the best of luck on your journey."

Serena nodded. "Why don't we get going then?" Serena asked Fennekin and Ash.

"That's a good idea," Ash said, his stomach rumbling. "I could really use something to eat."

Serena laughed. "Okay. Let's go eat." She had to admit that she was starting to get hungry as well. "We need to get Pikachu to the Pokemon Center too."

As Ash and Serena started toward the door, Ash felt something hit him in the back of the head. He turned around to see Froakie, still staring at him. It had thrown a wad of its bubbles at him.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Fro!" the frog pokemon said as it hopped closer to him. Ash knelt as it approached. It stopped just in front of Ash. "Fro, froakie!"

"Could it be?" Professor Sycamore asked.

"What is it, professor?" Serena responded.

"I think Froakie wants to go with you," he told Ash. "To think that it's choosing its trainer..."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"I've given this Froakie to trainers before," he said. "Several, in fact. However, the trainers would be back before long, asking to return it to me. Apparently, it wouldn't listen to them, and I guessed that it was because it thought they were inexperienced."

"So Froakie is choosing me because it thinks I'm experienced enough?" Froakie nodded in confirmation. "Would that be okay, p1rofessor?"

"Of course, Ash," Professor Sycamore said as he pulled out Froakie's pokeball. He tossed it across the room, and Ash caught it. "I'm not going to deny Froakie its chance to go with a trainer it finds suitable."

"Well, Froakie? I guess that means we're a team now," Ash told it. "We'll work hard and win the Kalos League together!"

"Froakie!" the frog pokemon exclaimed. It was happy and determined to succeed.

Ash held Froakie's pokeball out and recalled the pokemon inside. He stood to face the professor again. "Thank you, professor."

"I should be the one thanking you, Ash," he said. "Good luck to all of you."

With a wave, the group left the lab on their way to the Pokemon Center.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

And they finally meet! Hopefully their first interaction was alright, but let me know what you thought. The same goes for the rest of the chapter, of course.

Regarding the actual chapter, I always found it odd how Ash and Serena initially managed to pass each other without crossing paths, as well as Serena catching up to him in time to see his gym battle. I wanted to do something about that. This chapter was somewhat inspired by how Dawn met Ash back in the DP series, but without involving a certain trio of characters.

Instead, I went with Pangoro. They just seemed like the type of pokemon that would attack someone like they did here. I would like to think I did pretty well with that fight; it was more detailed and more realistic to Pikachu's expectations in terms of raw power and skill, but they did have to lose somehow. To be fair, almost all the time you probably don't have to worry about the trainer being attacked directly, so Ash wouldn't be as prepared for it.

I am going to try and get the next chapter out before Sun and Moon come out next Friday. I doubt that I'll be taking much time to write again until I get my fill of those games. As a friendly reminder, the Sun and Moon anime starts in Japan with two episodes on Thursday. I am coming in with low expectations at the moment, but I am really hoping to be impressed.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!

(Also, 100 favorites before chapter 3 comes out? You guys are amazing.)


End file.
